this morning on "early today," political disconnect. a new nbc poll shows how americans feel about the battle over the budget and collective bargaining rights. freedom of hate? the nation's highest court hands a victory to a church group and its anti-gay message. and school bus shocker. surveillance video captures a bus driver rough handling a surveillance video captures a bus driver rough handling a 6-year-old girl. 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. today we begin with crunching the numbers.

as lawmakers face tough decisions on where to cut overweight budgets the latest nbc news/"wall street journal" poll finds americans are divided about how far they should go. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with the breakdown. good morning. >> reporter: this new poll tells us one thing for sure, americans are concerned about money the debt and the deficit. take a look at the numbers. a concern over the federal budget deficit, 80% of those who responded said they are concerned a great deal or quite a bit, but interestingly, what do americans want to cut out of the budget and not cut some they don't want to touch medicaid, medicare, social security osh education. some of the biggest areas of the federal budget. now, when it comes to the state budget issues we've been watching in wisconsin and other states, americans overwhelmingly think that it's okay for public employees to pay more for their retirement benefits. 68% said that's acceptable.

what they don't think is acceptable is eliminating collective bargaining rights for the public employees. taking a look at collective bargaining, 77% over three-fourths say that workers who are public employees should have the same collective bargaining rights as those in the public sector. >> thanks. in the latest threat to the public unions the ohio senate has has passed a bill that would cut bargains rights for employees. the measure would ban strikes by public workers and fines those who participate in walkouts. cleared yesterday by a single vote margin. like a similar plan in wisconsin, the bill must still be passed by the republican-led house and signed by the state's governor. the supreme court ruled wednesday that a grieving father's pain over outrageous hateful protests at his marine son's funeral must yield to the first amendment protection of free speech.

nbc's steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: the high court ruling is a big win for the phelps family who, again, protested homosexuality outside washington and vowed to keep going to soldiers' funerals to celebrate the deaths they say are god's punishment for america tolerating gays. >> we're back to the basic proposition. the soldiers are dying for the sins of this nation. >> reporter: the phelps and their tiny westboro baptist church picketed the funeral of u.s. marine matthew snider, killed in iraq in 2006. snyder's father sued. >> i think it's an insult to every veteran out there that has served this country. >> reporter: the supreme court ruled the phelps are protected by the first amendment, right to free speech. chief justice roberts wrote for the majority. westboro may have chosen the picket location to increase publicity for its views and its speech may have been particularly hurtful to snyder.

that does not mean that its speech should be afforded less than full first amendment protection. eight of the nine justices agreed. >> liberals and conservatives have united in this, on the side of free speech. >> reporter: justice samuel alito dissented, saying the phelps intentionally inflicted pain on the snyders. our commitment to free debate is not a license for an attack on matthew and his family at a time of acute emotional vulnerability central to the church's well practiced strategy for attracting public attention. now the phelps and their anti-gay campaign have won their biggest shot of publicity. steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. in washington after a school bus driver's frustration boiled over, he grabbed a 6-year-old by her book bag and threw her down. the january incident was

captured on the bus's surveillance camera. no charges have been filed against the driver, but he is no longer working for the school district. in texas, one mom probably hopes it will be a long time before her new son visits his birth place. she was in labor and wasn't going to make it to the hospital. so a 911 operator told her husband to pull over right where they were. it turns out it was the parking lot of a strip club. moments after the ambulance arrived, mom and dad welcomed a healthy baby boy. in nevada, the sheriff of washo county celebrated 150 years of history, the cowboy way. he rode into work on horseback to commemorate the creation of nevada territory in 1861 and he also paid homage to the county's first lawman who helped establish law and order in the wild wild west that became later a state -- the 36th state. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins.

with the weather channel forecast. bill, good morning. >> not exactly your rugged cowboy, am i? >> no, not so much. that's okay. >> maybe i'll go -- >> you're a weather guy. >> maybe i'll go a day without shaving, get rebellious. >> that will be pretty cool. why don't we try that? >> we'll see. talk about what's happening around the nation because we have one more arctic blast from canada, this went through the great lakes yesterday, today in the northeast. southern half of the country very mild, all the way through albuquerque, phoenix, southern california. we're still stormy in the west too. it's not too cold. temperatures are little bit below average with clouds around. you see this moisture streemg onshore. it's not so much there's a big storm system. not like yesterday. those were incredible winds in the coastline in oregon yesterday. today scattered moisture and showers, high elevation getting snow. the cities are getting a cool rain. it's raining lightly from seattle and looks like most of the rain is to the north of portland. as far as the forecast for today goes, on and off showers, highs only in the 40s.

we're mild in arizona, but still relatively cool from san diego right up the coast to san francisco. that's a look at your thursday 46, pendleton, oregon, cloudy, temperature 50. i think we've had rain in the forecast, lynn, every single day this week on the west coast. i'll come back later and let you know what friday looks like. >> thank you. the fed chief warns on budget cuts, apple's chief comes out for a debut and proof that royal wedding souvenirs have gotten out of control. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, media sensation lady gaga tests her luck in a new medium. coming up a thrilling finish between north carolina and florida state. a major suspension costs byu and a coach shows his team how to

dunk. what could possibly go wrong, you ask? you're watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. president obama is condemning what he calls an outrageous attack outside an airport in frankfurt, germany, yesterday that killed two american airmen and wounded two others. the suspected gunman, a 21-year-old airport worker from kosovo taken into custody shortly after the shooting got into an argument with the airmen outside their military bus before opening fire. german prosecutors say the shooting is being investigateds as a possible act of islamic terrorism. the army has filed 22 new charges against private bradley manning, accused of leaking thousands of classified government documents to wikileaks last year, the most serious of the new charges is aiding the enemy, a capital offense that can bring the death penalty or life in prison.

french prosecutors say designer john galliano will be put on trial over an alleged anti-semitic rant in which he professes his love for hitler. this week christian dior fired the long-time designer. natalie portman, who is jewish, called the remarks, quote, disgusting. if convicted, galliano who has reported checked into an arizona rehab center, could spend up to six months in prison. and in a discovery straight out of a horror movie, brazilian scientists say they've identified four species of fungi that turn ants into zombies before killing them. we can't make this stuff up. the fungi uses an unknown chemical to control the insect's brain and behavior. scary video, there. an early look at how wall street will kick off. the dow opens at 12,066 after

adding 8 points yesterday. the s&p inched up two points, the nasdaq rose 10. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei gained 93 points while in hong kong the hang seng was up 73. a little bit of hope helped stocks climb out of the red on wednesday. investors were encouraged by news that private employers added over 200,000 jobs last month. that raised hopes the nation's 9% unemployment rate could drop in the government's big jobs report tomorrow. meanwhile, traders are still concerned about the rising price of oil. crude settled above $102 a barrel for the first time in two years. the federal reserve quarterly beige book survey showed the u.s. economy expanded broadly oef the last two months despite mounting pressure to raise prices. ben bernanke warned congress a republican plan to cut $61 billion in federal spending this year, would cut economic growth and result in a loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs. in san francisco, apple's

steve jobs unveiled the ipad 2, despite his recent medical leave of absence. the upgraded tablet is thinner, lighter and comes with two cameras. texas instruments added 3% after jp morgan upgraded the entire semiconductor sector. yahoo! gained 3% on reports of search engine is in talks to unload its stake in yahoo! japan. the security and exchange commission wants to reign in wall street bonuses. if passed the agency's proposal would require wall street firms to submit detailed accounts of proposed bonuses which the s.e.c. could ban if they find and deem excessive. and finally, sick of hearing about prince william and kate's royal wedding? well one woman hopes her souvenir sick bag will be a hit with anyone who needs to throne up if they hear any more about the big day. a close call for a tennis star, an unusual college

basketball suspension, and a shattering high school experience. plus, lately, the huskies of uconn seemed stuck in a bad place. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. the winter chill continues from the great lakes to the northeast and more rain showers on the west coast. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, the antics of young men in college are often dismissed with the phrase boys will be boys. well that is apparently not the case at briingham young university. here is nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. with march madness around the corner, third ranked byu dismissed brandon davies for breaking the school's code and he will miss the tournament after admitting that he had sexual relations with his girlfriend. it may be a steep price to pay, but those are the rules of the university. the suspension is costing byu, they were shocked by unranked new mexico on their home court. cougars trailed early and never recovered. dets may be one of the best players in the nation but can't do it by himself. byu lost. to tallahassee, all this fan wanted for his birthday was for florida state to beat north carolina. he was about five seconds away from getting his wish when the party was crashed.

drained a three to give the tar heels the lead. seminoles had a last chance but kitchen stepped out of bounds before getting the shot off. north carolina escaped 72-70. nothing went right for uconn against west virginia. case in point. the free throw took a few bounces and got stuck on the back of the rim. you have a chance of spotting big foot than doing that again. west virginia pulled off the upset, 55-56. there is concern for serena williams. her agent confirms she underwent emergency treatment for a blood clot in her lung earlier this week. she is expected to make a full recovery. if you thought uconn had a problem with the rim, check this out from vancouver. high school basketball coach decided to show off his dunking skills. not only did he miss the dunk he shattered the back board, kids loved it but he did not. one more time. down he went with the backboard and the rim. that's the price you pay for showing off.

that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. >> looks painful. yet another ridiculous example of teen singer justin bieber's popularity. your entertainment headlines are straight ahead. hair' unbearbly cute and cuddly but how far would you go to rescue one. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this thursday morning. we have some light rain moving through portland, showers to the north of you around seattle too. medford, you're going to have showery weather to deal with along with our friends throughout the intermountain west. we're dry in california today. arizona, is going to be one of the warmer spots over the next couple days, near 80 tomorrow in phoenix. l.a. a little cool today, tomorrow we give you sunshine, a nice friday too. 70 to end your work week. if you're watching us on king 5 news in seattle, washington, visit a colony of flightless birds from peru, watch them swim and learn about their habitat at the penguin exhibit at the woodland park zoo, that's your pacific event of the day. here's an early look at the morning's headlines in entertainment. if the marketplace is the true test of stardom, justin bieber just passed with flying color. would you doubt it? the 17-year-old's hair clippings have been sold for more than $40,000.

bieber chopped his trademark hair style and then he donated the leftovers to ellen who sold them on ebay for charity. superman's mom got a make-over. diane layne will play the usually much more matronly martha kent in the new untitled man of steel film scheduled to debut in 2012. angelina jolie wrapped up her second visit to afghanistan yesterday as u.n. good will ambassador bringing the attention to plight of refugees returning to afghanistan without jobs, homes and other basic needs. finally adding another wrinkle to her eccentric performance portfolio, lady gaga made her debut as a catwalk model in paris at a fashion show. in addition to directing the show's music, she debuted a new song on the runway, government hooker. which make may explain the outfit. >> have you ever done a catwalk?

>> i have not. are you surprised, bill? >> would you do it for charity if i could set it up? >> of course. if it does not include clothes that look like that. a little more modest. >> all right. i'll set it up. >> there we go. >> this comes to us from park, florida, where a couple of kittens have a few lives left. thanks to being rescued from a tight squeeze. after a homeowner reported hearing meowing, fire crews used a special camera to free two kitties from walls inside the home. the owner thinks the kitten belongs to a cat that hangs out on her roof and they got inside. she's going to the leave the walls the way they are for now in case she gets any other cat calls for help. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today, on your nbc station.

the dawn's early light will be bright at one grand opening in the baltimore. just in time for the war of 1812's bicentennial and the anniversary at the national anthem, the star-spangled banner history will be on display at a new 17,000 square foot center in fort mchenry. expected to draw over 600,000 visitors a year, the new space is more than three times the size of its predecessor. one veteran sailor is looking to take her adventures to the next level in peru and launched her solo voyage to tahiti yesterday where she'll rely on an oversized kite to power her boat. while she's already conquered a sailing trip from the u.s. to france, the use of a kite is sure to bring unique challenges

over the 4,000 mile trek which is expected to take two months. at one soccer match in brazil, fans weren't the only thing flooding the stadium. torrential rains flooded the actual stadium and delayed the game. no problem for fans who took advantage of the weather. and swam in the rain-soaked bleachers. some fans stripped down to their skivvies to dive in freestyle through the waters which you would imagine would be pretty gross. imagine a stadium floor with the popcorn and crusty beer. >> that's an old tradition, wet field, diving maybe not your underwear. >> yeah. it makes for good video, right, bill? >> that's great. time for a look at the stories we'll follow throughout the day on nbc. the navy will release its findings into watching videos on the uss enterprise. and announce actions being taken against those responsible. the carrier's commanding officer has been fired over the videos. with no resolution in the labor dispute between the nfl

and the players' union, a lockout looms. the current collective bargaining agreement expires at midnight. as we mentioned, with an anniversary for the star-spangled banner. on this day in 1931, president herbert hoover made the song the national anthem of the united states. all day long, you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with nbc "nightly news." and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. the very latest on the bitter battle between troubled actor charlie sheen and his estranged wife over the custody of their twin sons. and a mother defends her controversial decision to divorce her husband and leave her children behind to pursue a career. 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. the day today on your nbc station. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com