captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on this sunday morning. i'm lester holt. >> and i'm jenna wolf. what an important day for the polish people. >> the start of the week of mourning for the president and others who died in the crash of the jetliner in russia. many are calling it the worst tragedy since world war ii. there's a sea of flowers outside the presidential palace and you can see thousands have shown up to pay their respects. we'll have the latest on the crash in just a minute. >> then we're going to have new information on the scandal involving that little boy who was sent back to russia by his adoptive mother in tennessee. there are reports that several families in russia have now expressed interest in adopting him. >> plus if there's a comeback dog, she's ruby. some are calling her a bionic dog. her story of survival and recovery. it is a happy ending. we'll begin in europe with the day of mourning. today sirens rang as the country paused for two minutes of silence. while the bodies of the victims including that of the president began to arrive in poland from russia. tom asspell has the latest. >> reporter: the tuf layoff was carrying lech kaczynski, his wife and dozens of govern the officials including all of the armed forces and security forces. it turned for final approach into smolensk and clipped some trees and hit the ground before bursting into flames. all 97 people onboard were killed. president kaczynski and the delegation were on their way to a memorial ceremony for 20,000 polish army officers murdered by soviet secret police during world war ii. the service went ahead with empty chairs for the polish officials. there was shock and grief. it is so terrible. >> it is a great tragedy for our whole country. >> reporter: flowers were laid outside government buildings and special masses were said throughout the country. the polish cabinet held an emergency meeting and declared a week of national mourning. president obama said the loss was devastating to poland, to the united states and to the world. russian president dmitri medvedev and prime minister vladimir putin lit candles of condolence near poland. putin left to smolensk to take charge of the investigation. russian officials say the air traffic controllers suggested kaczynski's flight divert to an alternative airport because of thick fog, but that the pilot decided to land at smolensk anyway, a decision that wind out the top echelons of the political and military establishment. for today today," tom a spell, nbc news, london. >> now here's lester. president obama offered condolences and said poland's sloss devastateing to the united states and the world. david, good morning. good morning, lester. president kaczynski was a strong ally of the u.s. and poland had agreed, for example, to allow the installation of an american missile shield there. does anything change there immediately in the relationship between the u.s. and warsaw? >> i think not, lester. that is an area of cooperation that's really important to the united states right now and it will continue to be important, but i think there's enough continuity in the polish government thankfully that some of that area of cooperation can continue despite how tragic this is, not just for the country and the loss of life, but to the top echelon to the military and the political establish chlt of the country. that will certainly cause turmoil. >> let me turn now to some of the domestic stories we've been watching. michael steel appeared at a big gathering of republicans yesterday and was pretty frank saying i've made some mistakes here referring to some of the financial questions regarding the rnc, but he also had the message, let's forget about me, let's deep our eye on the ball and defeat the democrats in the fall. does it get him past his troubles in one fell swoop? >> right now it does. because while he's unpopular, what you said is the most important thing and the party is focused on winning in november and that's how he'll be judged. the fund-raising piece is what's most important. if he is not raising enough money for the party that's where he will be seep as deficient and could have results in november and the party could make a decision, but there are other actors in the party like haley barbour where there's robust fund-raising going where there is enough support po keep him where he is for now. this particular gathering is seen as a chance to get a feel for who may be the next republican presidential candidate. sarah pail ilin is always the prominent headliner. is there a hint as to who the republicans might be putting forward. >> there's so much attention on sarah palin and i don't think she's likely to e merge as a presidential contender. she's certainly a leader in the party and a leading voice when it comes to shaping ideas as are people like newt gingrich. what's interesting if you listen to people, she said we ought to be the party of no, and hell no in opposing obama's agenda and gingrich says we need to say yes to some things and need a on new contract with america. that's the point of tension in the party right now which is how do they mount this effective counter to the obama agenda starting this year and paving a way to the figure in 2012. >> set the table for us now in terms of what to expect as president obama considers a replacement for justice stevens on the supreme court. the fact that democrats no longer have the bulletproof majority in the senate. how does that change the kind of person the president will be looking for? >> well, look, was there a lot of sound and fury related to justice sotomayor and she was still confirmed handily. i think the president will number pretty good shape in ter terms of who he puts forward. the nature of the confirmation fight that's ahead. the importance of the election of scott brown in massachusetts. a filibuster is possible, is it really something that republicans want to do? this is an election year, both the bases of the parties will get revved up by all of this, but i think the question of what sort of battle the president wants will be a factor, probably a bigger factor is how the president wants to affect the court going forward. these are important nominations. >> david gregory, thank you very much. >> we want to head to the news desk and jeff ross is with the other headlines. >> lefter and jenna, good morning, everyone. we begin in west virginia, where they're retrieving the bodies of the miners. funerals were held for the miners that died in tragedy. a team of federal investigators will arrive at the scene tomorrow. police in oklahoma are looking for three people this morning in connection with a gun fight in the middle of a crowded mall. when it was all over one person was dead and several others injured. police say it's unclear if the teenager killed was involved in the shooting or just an innocent bystander. rescuers in washington have found a missing hiker alive. he was buried under an avalanche in granite mountain for four hours. the man called for help on his cell phone. doctors say he'll be okay. the reality tv producer suspected in his wife's murder in cancun could face charges later today. mexico's attorney general says a decision on whether to file charges could come at any moment. bruce behresford-redmond has been ordered to stay in the country in the meantime. his wife monica was found dead in a sewer near a hotel where they were staying. we have sad news from the world of entertainment. actress dixie carter has died. she had a long career on broadway and on of it ff and most of us know her as the quick-witted southern belle as julia sugarbaker on "designing women "the. dixie carter was 70 years old. a texas icon came roaring down. texas stadium is gone after a spectacular implosion. thousands of pieces of dynamite went off in sequence and all went well as you can see in these pictures just a couple of minutes ago. this was the home of the cowboy for 38 seasons. you've probably seen the new stadium, it's gorgeous. thousands came out to watch the spectacle. who doesn't love a good implosion, especially when it's not our careers. now back to lester, jenna and janice. >> you know someone's going -- my keys. darn it! oh, well. thanks, jeff. janice huff is here with a check of the weather. >> good morning to both of you and everyone here. looking at the weather on the west coast first of all because there's a big storm moving in and it's bringing coastal rain and heavy rain for coastal oregon. you might see mud slides and that's a possibility around los angeles and then the higher elevations acros across the >> good sunday morning. i'm meteorologist justin dra brick. eeb a better day today with temperatures in the 70s. we're above average once again. so 70 to 76 for our afternoon highs. plenty of sunshine through most of the day. high clouds start to move in late in the afternoon into the evening hours. the front will come through early tomorrow morning bringing some clouds. but we should be dry and a cooler shot of air builds in for midweek with highs in the your e a sprinkle later today. 07s down to the gulf coast in new orleans and 80 in tampa. now here's lester. >> janice, thanks. there are new developments in the case of the 7-year-old russian boy who was adopted by a woman in tennessee and then put on a plane and returned to russia last week. nbc's ron allen had has been following the story from shelbyville, tennessee, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lester, yes. we've been spending time here and the folks who live in this community say it's a place where everybody knows just about everybody else, but the hanson family are a bit of a mystery. even their neighbors say they don't know much about them and people around here cannot believe what the family did to a 7-year-old boy. >> the hanson family compound remained shut tight. easter decorations still up. tory hanson, the adoptive mother has not been seen here since word spread she sent her 7-year-old adopted son back to russia. >> just treating a child like a dog. >> angela said she saw the hansons come and go the past few years, but they never spoke to her and she never saw the boy. a boy who rarely left the compound, not even to attend school. in russia today reports indicate the young boy remains in a hospital. he's seeing a psychologist. numerous russian families outraged by what happened have offered to adopt him. on russian tv, he said hanson did not feed him and often pulled him by the hair. as it has threatened to do. working on new safeguards. leaving perhaps several thousand families and orphans in diplomatic limbo. >> over the last 15 years, over 50,000 russian children have been adopted into american families. 50,000, and the vast majority of those children are in loving, stable situations. >> reporter: back here in tennessee, authorities begin investigating what many adoption experts say could be a case of child abuse. >> hanson and the mother have been quoted as saying the boy was violent when he wanted things like toys. he attacked an aunt over a homework dispute and threatened to burn down the house with the family in it. families need to think carefully before adopting. >> kids who have come from foster care and come from orphanages often need some help. we have to provide that help. we can't just say oh, the parent should just love the kid and everything will be okay. >> hanson's neighbors like the folks at the this and that store say their biggest concern is the little boy they rarely saw. >> it's bothersome. it's sad. i'm glad he's okay. >> reporter: local authorities here say they're not pressing hanson to come forward as of yet because she's not been accused of any specific crime. lefter? >> up next on "today," he's only a freshman in college, but you can also call him something else. how about mr. mayor? we'll meet 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imported water? don't be ridiculous. work with the company that's helping more people reach retirement than anyone else -- because when it comes to investing, you should never settle. fidelity investments. politics for most 19-year-olds might mean a political science class or stint as a volunteer, romain robert quinn is a veteran politician. for a year he served on the city council in wisconsin, population 8300 or so, but that waun enough for this 19-year-old so he ran for mayor and won. he defeated the uncompany bent by 129 votes. he'll be sworn in nine days from now as wisconsin's youngest mayor and he joins us this morning in an exclusive interview. mr. mayor elect, congratulations good morning. >> hi. good morning. mr. mayor, let me ask you this. you're 19 years old and still at that age when people ask you what do you want to be when you grow up? how does it feel to soon be a leader of a city? >> really good. i'm really excited. >> this was a fairly close race, as we said, 121 votes was the separation factor here. are you surprised age wasn't more of an issue on this one? >> i think that was the biggest issue, but a race should be about the issues and not about a person's age and we had to deal with that and we were lucky enough to be elected. >> you were on city council for a year and all of a sudden you decide this isn't challenging enough? i think i want to be mayor? is that how you came to that decision? >> no, i thought i could better steer the city's direction from the mayor's post instead of city council. >> now you go home and tell your family, hey, guys, over thanksgiving dinner, i think i want to run for mayor. what do your friends and family members say to you? do they believe you? >> most of them didn't believe me when i wanted to run for city council. they think it's cool and especially my friends and my family was excited for me and really encouraged me and it was them that kept me going throughout the whole campaign. >> so you're a freshman in college right now. you're soon going to be the mayor. any idea how you are going balance both jobs? >> yeah. i've been asked that many times. our mayor's position isn't considered full time and there's no set office hours or anything that i have to be at, but you know, it's a challenge that i'm ready for. i know i'll have to make sacrifices in my personal life, but it's the job i'm ready to do. >> sacrifices in your personal life, like when you won you couldn't cink and party to celebrate. what did you do to celebrate, then? and i mention you couldn't drink because you're only 19. >> that's correct. >> i'm sorry. go ahead. how did you celebrate? >> we had a garage open and family and friends and different supporters coming in and out all night. so it was a good time. >> mr. mayor, what is first on your agenda? >> well, i have many things on my to-do list. we ran on many issues from replacing our current city administrator to reviewing our sidewalk policy, how we're going to handle the dnr's mandate for us to do a better job on storm water control and retention. there are a nice lists to do. >> my list at 19 was meet some nice friends who i could potentially share a dorm. mr. mayor elect, we thank you so much for joining us. good luck and we hope to speak to you in the coming weeks and months. >> thanks for having me. >>. still to come, another politician or a parody of one returns to "saturday night live." first, these messages. mmm. ♪ [ female announcer ] oscar mayer deli fresh meats. sliced, packed and sealed at the peak of freshness, they're impossible to resist. ah, you gonna eat all that? ♪ it doesn't get better than this ♪ i love you. ♪ it doesn't get better than this ♪ have you tried honey bunches of oats yet? every spoonful is a little different. mmm. they got three kinds of flakes. this is delicious. it's the perfect combination of sweet and crispy. i love it. this is so good. this is great. the magic's in the mix. last night tina fey was back playing sarah palin on "saturday night live." she announced the creation of a new network, the sarah palin network compared with tea party, wheel of fortune and a parody of the press. >> do you hate gotcha journalism? well get red for hey, journalists, i gotcha where i re-edit my interviews with journalists to make them look like the they were the ones that were woefully unprepared. >> so katie, what newspapers do you read? >> it's so good. it's just so, so good. >> we haven't seen her do that since the elections. it's funny how we're back in the building and i get to watch the whole show tonight. i can't stay up late. >> more to talk about this morning. still to come, going into the final round of the masters, tiger had some choice words out on the course. we'll tell you why. plus, we'll meet one lucky dog overcoming the odds after a terrible accident, but first these messages. but nasonex relief may i say... bee-utiful! prescription nasonex is proven to help relieve indoor and outdoor nasal 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(announcer) side effects were generally mild and included headache. viral infection, sore throat, nosebleeds and coughing. ask your doctor about symptom relief with nasonex. and save up to $15 off your refills. go to nasonex.com for details, terms and conditions. >> 8:26 now on a beautiful sunday morning. the washington monument there in the distance as we prepare for another very gorgeous spring day. take a look at our forecast in a couple minutes. i'm aaron gilchrist. it is sunday, april 11, 2010. >> a student says she was attacked at georgetown university. it happened at the copley residence hall on friday night. the woman told police she was walking from her room down to the basement when a stranger put one hand over her mouth and the other over her shirt. we've learned the identity of a woman who died in prince george's county. cynthia deshawn aaron died at the hop. police were called to a shooting in the parking lot of andrews restaurant in suitland, early yesterday morning. today is the final day of the cherry blossom festival. this is a look at the japanese street festival from yesterday. today runners are taking their mark in the 10 k run and 5 k walk. the festival celebrates the cherry trees which were a gift from japan in 1912. in a moment, justin will join us here's to the believers. the risk-takers. the visionaries. the entrepreneurs... who put it all on the line to build and run their own businesses. at at&t, we know something about that. our company started out in a small lab, with not much more than a dream. and today, we know it's small businesses that can create the jobs america needs. that's why at&t is investing billions to upgrade and build out our wired and wireless networks. making them faster, smarter, and more secure. connecting small businesses to markets across the country, and around the world. we invest now, because we know it will pay off...