this morning on "early today" wave of unrest. the u.s. sends words of encouragement to protests in iran as amateur video of clashes surface. road hazard. dash cam video captures a frightening collision between a florida patrol car and a female cyclist. and bikini beauty. we'll tell you who is on the cover of this year's "sports illustrated" swimsuit issue. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello, and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry, and today we begin with the fight for

freedom. secretary of state hillary clinton will rachet up the pressure on middle east governments today emphasizing the need for internet freedom as social media sites play a central role in political movements across the arab world and in iran. tracie potts joins us from washington with more on that. >> reporter: social media sites have really fuelled these protests. we've seen that in egypt and other countries, and today in a major policy speech secretary of state hillary clinton will say that the u.s. supports these on-line democracy movements and will warn middle eastern government that is while they may be able to slow them down, they will not be able to stop the spread of democracy by restricting the internet. specifically in excerpts from that speech, she will say there is no app for that. we've seen similar demonstrations to what happened in egyptç around that region i iran. tens of thousands of demonstrators supporting the

egyptians have come out and clashed with police. we do know that one person was killed. they were shot to death. several others were wounded. we saw similar demonstrations to bahrain where authorities used rubber bullets to control the crowd and in yemen where there have been protests as well. all of them regarding reform in those countries. lynn. >> tracie, thanks so much. nbc news has learned that court documents show that an american that helped set up the camp where the london suicide bombers were trained has been released from prison after serving less than five years. mohammed abar, a man from queens, new york, had pleaded guilty to terrorism charges and faced up to 70 years in prison. however, it's now just coming to light that in december the admitted al qaeda operative was sentenced to time served and ten years of probation as a reward for his cooperation with authorities. a lawyer representing victims' families and survivors of the

london bombings called the deal "crazy." well, president obama unveiled his 2012 budget yesterday, and although it contains more than $1 trillion in cuts over a decade, gop lawmakers say the reductions just don't go far enough. brian moore reports. >> reporter: 200 some pages, $3.7 trillion. this is president obama's 2012 spending plan. >> well, you guys are doing great work. keep it up. i'm proud of you. >> reporter: at a middle school in baltimore, he fired the first shot in the battle over budget cuts. >> we have a responsibility to invest in those areas that will have the biggest impact in our future. >> reporter: he wants to invest in education and other areas, like research, building power plants, and encouraging electric cars. republicans say america just can't afford it. >> it's a plan that says fulfilling the president's vision of a future of trains and windmills is more important than

a balanced checkbook. >> reporter: the presses's plan cuts $1 trillion from the deficit over ten years. cuts in defense, community grants, and home heating assistance programs for the poor. even the white house acknowledges its budget isn't the final word. brian moore, nbc news, washington. >> now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. in florida horrific collision was caught on dash cam. a bicyclist was seriously injured when a police cruiser plowed into her as she walked across a dark road. the deputy driving said he did not see the woman until it was too late. an investigation is underway, and the woman was said to be under the influence of alcohol. ç in texas construction workers ran for their lives when a parking deck began to collapse. as many as 120 workers were on the construction site just before the structure crumbled. a supervisor sounded an alarm giving the crew time to escape.

only two workers were injured in the accident. in nevada grocery baggers came from 21 states to sack the competition at the 2011 bagger championship. judged on a variety of categories, including speed, attitude, and style, competitors bagged cars, cans, and loefz of bread with hopes of winning a $10,000 grand prize. and, finally, in louisiana the richards have been married since 1930, and what better day than valentine's day to celebrate their 81-year marriage? surrounded by family, friends, and g bonnie jindal, the couple was inducted into the louisiana family forum hall of fame. the richards are the longest married couple in the state. and looking good. now for a look at your national and regional weather. here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. >> congratulations to them. hope everyone had a nice valentine's day. on the west coast, lynn, not so nice weather. winds were howling yesterday in

oregon state, and now we're still dealing with the storm system bringing rain to the region, too. all the bad weather is going to be on the west coast over the next couple of days, and it's just going to see one storm system after another just sitting here and spin. we have one kicking up from british columbia, and there's one behind it and another kicking down from the gulf of alaska. as far as the rainfall goes, right now the worst of it is pretty much north of san francisco, but during the day today we even have showers in the forecast for san fran. possibly even further down the coast. even los angeles we could see a shower or two. the green on the map here is all rain right up i-5. the white, we're getting a good dumping of snow in the cascades. it's been a while since we've gotten fresh snow in the area, so i guess that's kind of needed. not just for the ski resorts, but also for the water supply. in the next 48 hours we're expecting as much as two to three inches of rain in the high elevations, so it's an umbrella day. mostly from northern california up the coast. that's a look at your tuesday forecast. now here's a look at the weathe.

not to the valley floors. well, lynn, we're going to talk about more rain on wednesday. just looks unsettled would be the word. >> all right, bill. we'll check in in just a bit. also, coming up closing prices are shooting up. the big nfl labor dispute starts cooking, and the dress that won the princess's heart is for sail. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, the answer is what is the battle of man versus machine on "jeopardy?" coming up, the lakers hit a new low. a stunning win by kansas state, and tiger woods coughs up some controversy. you're watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are

some of your top headlines this morning. italian prime minister sill have i i don't berlusconi has been ordered stand trial for charges he paid for sex with a 17-year-old girl and then tried to cover it up. the ruling comes just days after women demanded the resignation. the trial is set to begin april 6th. the house has agreed to extend three key provisions of the patriot act. overcoming early opposition from both sides of the aisle worried about infringement on civil liberties. the measure that deals with surveillance of lone wolf suspects, wiretaps, and access to business records now goes to the senate which must act before it expires at the end of this month. former agriculture department employee is suing -- over a heavily edited video he posted last summer that she claims made her appear racist and led to her dismissal.ç usda later apologized for the firing and offered to rehire

her, but she declined. sharod claims emotional distress and financial damages. two scientists from the university of louisiana reportedly believe that a new planet four times the size of jupiter is lurking in the outer regions of our solar system. if confirmed the massive planet would become the ninth and largest in our system. and now here's an early look at one of your top health headlines on msnbc.com. a new report by doctors warning against the use of popular energy drinks. charges that they are under-studied, over used, and can be dangerous for children and teens. after reviewing a variety of data in literature, the authors write in the journal of medical pediatrics the harm is caused mostly by too much caffeine or similar ingredients, include heart palpitations, stroke, and even sudden death. for more on this and other health stories, you can check out the health page at

msnbc.com. >> narrator: early today health is brought to you by vagisil cream. >> now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,268 after dipping five points yesterday. the s&p inched up three points. the nasdaq rose seven. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in toek toek the nikkei added 21 points, but the hang seng lost 221. investors will get updated retail data today. it's after one of the biggest retailers dragged down the dow. wal-mart shares slipped after jp morgan lowered its outlook for the retail chain, predicting customers will return to more expensive stores as the economy improves. sdmrimplgts overseas, china reported its consumer prices were nearly 5% higher than january 2010. slightly lower than predicted, but not low enough to eliminate inflation fears entirely.

meanwhile, experts warn clothing prices in the u.s. are expected to rise about 10% this spring due to rising demand and materials. a judge in ebbing kwa door is demanding more than $9 billion in damages in chevron from a decades-long battle over pollution charges against texaco, which chevron acquired in 2001. chevron executives are vowing to appeal. general motors is drafting record profit-sharing checks worth upwards of $12,000 for its hourly workers. on the earnings front marriott beat the street estimate and it will divide its team share and management division from its lodge and franchise arm. fedex is warning that its next earnings report will be affected by the severe winter weather. and the nfl took the first step in its looming contract battle with the players union yesterday filing charges with the labor board claiming it's failing to bargain in good faith. if the union becomes dessertfied, players might try to file an anti-trust lawsuit against team owners when their

contract expires march 4th. finally, could you own the dress that may have captured prince william's heart if you snag the see-through stunner kate middleton warn in a fashion show in 2002. it goes on the auction block this week. well, coming up, the lakers sputter, the rockets roar, and tiger spews. plus, another trademark thundering slam from the nba's new kid on the block. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. stormy weather continues on the west coast, and a real quick shot of winter for our friends inç new england. your tuesday forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if are you just waking up, this is "early today." in sports last night the nba's defending champion lakers had the kind of night where they made the charlotte bobcats look like champions. here's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. we all know the lakers have had trouble beating elite teams this year, but for some reason they've always had a problem with the charlotte bobcats. that trend continued last night. the bobcats went on a tear in the third ending the quarter on a 14-3 run. believe it or not, charlotte, one of two teams with an all-time winning mark against l.a. the other is boston. the bobcats hand the lakers their most lopsided loss of the

season. 109-89. the nuggets fell to a sloppy third seven rockets scored in double digits. they easily won 121-102. blake griffin will be in the all-star dunk contest, and maybe he'll pull out the old half court alley-oop. the problem with alley-oop is if you don't throw it just right, you really don't have a play, unless, of course, you're griffin. the toss is off the mark, but he managed bank in the leaner. a great shot. unfortunately, not enough. the bucks won 102-78. now to new jersey. love was in the air, but not for the spurs coach. he ripped tim duncan, and he responded. would have played the fourth, but the spurdz didn't need him. they won 102-85. kansas city was ranked before they were upset by kansas state. jacob pullham scored as the wildcats tucked their turning hopes alive 84-68. finally, tiger woods not

only lost the dubai desert classic, but he also had to cough up cash. he was fined by the european tour while spitting on the green while lining up a put. he since apologized. they would not give the amount of the fine, but it's probably between $400 and $16,000, and that's nothing to spit at. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. well, don't miss the latest head-shaking charlie sheen news. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. sflimplgts plus, the mystery of the heart. in vermont. you're watching "early today."

zarchlgts welcome back. it's an umbrella day. maybe you even need two of of them up in northern oregon and the coastline of northern california. the reason i say that, it's pretty windy out there too. now, as far as seattle goes, could even get a stray thunderstorm with some of the instability moving in. cooler temperatures than yesterday. we stayed dry from l.a. to phoenix, but along the coastline, you may get drizzle every now and then, and that same forecast holds true for wednesday. some significant rain events. some getting as much as four inches in northern california. sdmrimplgts well, if you are watching us on khnl news now it's honolulu, hawaii. visit members of an endangered seal species that can only be found in the aloha state. the monk seal habitat. that's your pacific event of the day. see, i didn't even know that. >> good excuse to go down and visit. >> he looks cute.

throw him a couple of fish. now here's an early look at this morning's headlines and entertainment. the jeopardy battle of man versus machine stands tied. the ibm computer heads out to a lead, but brad rudder eventually caught up, and the match continues for two more days. well, charlie sheen claimed at o a radio show that he showed up for work on monday and no one was there. he says he is ready to get back to filming and actually blamed his show's producers for any delay. also, tmz reports sheen received a text message from the last porn star he partied with telling him she's pregnant, but that she doesn't believe it's his. just keeps getting more bizarre. well, "30 rock's" alec baldwin got a star on the hollywood walk of fame on monday. he said it was cool for his daughter to have two parents, including former wife kim bassinger, who has stars on the walk of fame. russian-born 25-year-old

irina shayk has been chosen for the cover of this year's sports illustrated swimsuit issue. she found out last night on the david letterman show. she was obviously excited about it. this comes to us from news channel 5 in burlington, vermont, where showing some heart is all that's needed keep a mysterious valentine's day tradition alive. for the ninth year in a row an unknown person or persons has spread love in montpelier. each year he or she showers the city with affection plastering red hearts all over shops and buildings. residents apparently are okay with the yearly love fest.ç they're thankful that that phantom cupid arrow is aimed at their city. it's fun. i'm lynn berry. this is your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

one festival in china should probably come with safety guidelines. the annual firecracker and dragon festival kicked off with thousands of people dancing through the streets which were lit up with fireworks. the thousand year old tradition includes over 100 dragons and the ten best are set on fire at the end which is considered the highlight of the event. well, one dining room in lithuania would have guaranteed a sweet evening with your valentine. it's made entirely from chocolate. it took 660 pounds and 55 square feet of the sweet stuff to build the confection. every last detail of the room, down to the table, the chairs, the books, and even bottles of wine were made of chocolate.

one couple in london celebrated valentine's day by taking the plunge. literally. the pair married under water at the london aquarium having met two years ago at the acquire yum, it seemed like the perfect place to tie the knot. while the masks and marine life caused a few minor challenges. they were managed to exchange rings and seal their unique commitment with a kiss. where do you even go from there on your anniversary? it's, like, here are some flowers. >> i was, like, yeah, i'm over the under water snoshgelling thing, but then when you throw in the sea turtle chomping on the dress, we have something here. >> time for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. the president will honor recipients of the 2010 medal of freedom. the high eg civilian award. among the recipients former president george h.w. bush, german chancellor angela merkel, and billionaire warren buffett. in los angeles a cement slab featuring michael jackson's hand

and foot impressions will be auctioned. the concrete prints were meant to become part of a las vegas walk of fame project that failed. and tonight america will have a new top dog. best in show will be named at the 135th annual westminster kennel club dog show. the competition involves nearly 2600 dogs and 179 breeds and varieties. all day long you can stay on top of the latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc, and tonight be sure to watch brian williams withç nbc nightly news. and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on "the today show". the latest on the mounting legal troubles for former senator john edwards. and "today" goes live to buckingham palace for all the details on the royal wedding party and plans for prince william's bachelor party. now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports, and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a good one.

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