♪ this morning on "early today," rebels reach a standoff with government forces in libya as the u.s. and its allies weigh a military response. marina mystery, a grim scene in southern california as a million dead fish float ashore. and spidey sense? a vintage comic book featuring spider-man's debut sells for a mind-numbing sum.ç captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello, and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific team zone. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with losing momentum.

it now appears the rebellion against libya's moammar gadhafi has stalled, halted in its tracks by the libyan army. the drive by opposition fighters to qadhafi's stronghold in tripoli has been met with a heavy barrage of rockets in the east. in zawiya pro-regime forces threat tony capture the city. if it is retain, it would be a significant victory for qadhafi. meanwhile, in an interview broadcast on libya's state tv, qadhafi once again blames foreigners for the unrest, and answering possible u.s. and british plans for a libyan response, qadhafi told turkish tv libyans will "take up arms and fight if a no fly zone is empoe imposed on his country." back here at home the obama administration is carefully considering its next move in response to the shift of momentum in libya as the president collaborate with a key u.s. ally in finding the best

solution to the violence. nbc's tracie potts from washington has more on that. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. the state department says there is a sebs of urgency about this today. top security official lsz meet at the white house to consider their military options, which include a no fly zone, and something secretary of state hillary clinton says the u.s. cannot do alone. it needs the backing of the international community. whether that be the united nations, nato, the arab league, the african or european union. some here on capitol hill worry this would be an act of war. they're trying to get in humanitarian supplies, and as you mention, lynn, president obama has spoken with british prime minister david cameron by phone. he says they looked at the full spectrum of options when it comes to military intervention. cameron now says they have got to work together to get qadhafi out. >> tracie potts in washington, thank you. meanwhile, there has been another flare up of violence in a country that seemed to be making progress.

egypt. officials say at least six -- 11 people have been killed in clashes between christians and muslims there. yesterday, the christians had been protesting the recent burning of a church. they also have been demanding that more be done to increase -- improve the status of christians in egypt. elsewhere, yemen called for the country's president to resign. soldiers fired rubber bullets and tear gas at students at a university. at least 98 people were hurt. there was a prison riot that left one person dead. inspired by the uprising in egypt and tunisia, protests in yemen have been ongoing for several weeks now. e-mails released from wisconsin governor scott walker's office show he may be willing to compromise on his controversial proposal to strip workers of collective bargaining rights. despite taking a hard line position in public, documents suggest walker discussed making some concessions toç democrats

hiding out in illinois. among them are allowing unions to bargain over salaries with no limits, and permitting collective bargaining to stay in place on mandatory overtime and performance bonuses. still, some democrats blocking a vote on the original measure say the offer doesn't go far enough. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. in california, approximately 1 million fish turned up dead in the king harbor marina, creating a smorgasbord of sardines for pelicans and sea gulls as well as a mysterious mess for officials. the cause of death is unknown, but all indications point to suffocation due to lack of oxygen in the water. pretty nasty, though. also in california, high winds may have caused a huge eucalyptus tree to blow over on to a home. wind gusts blew through los angeles at the time the tree came down. it took out part of the home and nearly crushed one man inside. the 59-year-old was hospitalized

with minor injuries. in washington, a dog trainer has been branded a hero for saving one of his canine students after she stopped breathing. the trainer jumped into action when the dog went into a seizure. he performed cpr. shortly after, the dog began to breathe on its own. finally, in louisiana a rowdy bunch of revellers wrapped up mardi gras on a high note. they turned new orleans into party central, making this year's event, according to organizers, the biggest turnout since hurricane katrina, and the official tally has yet to be determined there. it's always fun. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's meteorologist ginger zee from nbc 5 in chicago. she has your forecast. ginger, good morning. >> good morning, lynn. actually, new orleans part of a storm now that has flooding concerns and did have some severe weather issues, but back to the west we're dry in the center right over the rockies, and now we're also going to see some hefty snows in the

cascades. already are this morning. eight to 12 inches above 3500 feet. that's why you have a winter storm warning just east of seattle. dry, though, if you go south. waking up this morning in los angeles. you're at 54. 45 in vegas. 51, phoenix. expect plenty of sunshine in all three locations. vegas just a few clouds in there. san fran, 63. medford, 59. now, seattle does have that rain for today. the rain is going to spread eastward, though, and kind of infiltrate the sunshine. clouds will too as we go into your thursday. that's where we see more medford, 55, with rain. boise, 57. the sunshine state for denver on thursday. 63 will be their high. that is a look at your regionaly make it to 80.

and that's a look at your wednesday forecast. lynn. >> ginger, thanks. well, oil settled. yet another new way to rent your movies. and the invention that can shield you from everythingç charlie sheen. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, does she own the word gaga? she seems to think so. coming up, a major suspension for ohio state football and a miami heat have another reason to cry. 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. the senate is expected to vote this afternoon on a pair of competing budget plans to fund the government for the rest of this fiscal year. neither measure is expected to pass, but the vote will set the stage for talks on averting a government shutdown next friday. a pennsylvania state trooper says a fire at a rural farmhouse has killed seven children while

ranging in ages from 7 months to 11 years, while their mother was in a barn milking cows andç thr father was taking a nap in a delivery truck. the tragic fire erupted tuesday in blain, about 20 miles north of harrisburg. one child did escape the fire unharmed. the philadelphia archdioceses says it has suspended 21 catholic priests over allegations they sexually abused minors. this action comes after a grand jury criticized the diocese last month for allowing 37 priests to continue serving despite allegations of questionable behavior. online auctioneers say an anonymous buyer has she would out nearly $1.1 million to buy a comic featuring spider-man's debut. when it was first published in 1962, the comic sold for just 12 cents. and we all know elephants never forget, but researchers in

thailand are now ranking pachyderms among the world's most cognitively advanced animals. during a recent intelligence test, a group of asian elephants shocked scientists with their ability to solve problems and work with others. in fact, two of them even outwitted humans by finding solutions to problems that researchers hadn't even considered. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,214 after climbing 124 points yesterday. the s&p added 11 points. the nasdaq rose 20. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei gained 64 points while in hong kong the hang seng was up 98. falling oil and financial stocks led a rally tuesday that gave wall street hope the market may be able to bounce back from recent losses. bank of america drove markets higher after its ceo told investors it plans to return more money to shareholders through stock buybacks and

dividends sending shares up nearly 5%. meanwhile, west texas crude settled down just above $105 a barrel, but investors are bracing for more volatility as libyan unrest threatens to spread to more strategic oil producers, iran and saudi arabia. shares of jack daniels, barnt brown foreman, shot up 5% after the liquor company said its net income rose 30%. meanwhile, urban outfitters tumbled 17% after missing earnings estimates. boeing has locked in $10 billion in deals with air china and hong kong airlines, and more sales could be on the horizon. china expects to order more than 2,000 aircraft over the next five years. sprint nextel and t-mobile pair and deutsche telecom have revived merger talks hoping to keep up with wireless rival verizon and at&t. warner brothers has teamed up with facebook to test out streaming movie sales on the social network.

"the dark knight" is the first flick to be offered up. $3 worth of facebook currency buys a two-day rental. the threat of a new rival in the online rental market sent shares of netflix nearly 7% lower. finally, had enough of warner brothers' ex employee charlie sheen popping up online? there's an app for that. the creator claims his charlie sheen browser blocker will hide most sheen related texts and images from your browsing experience. now, that is winning.ç coming up, a milestone for kobe. a broadcaster wants back on the field and the strangest soccer red card you'll ever see. plus, lebron tries his best to stop the heat from wilting. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. severe weather potential continues along the gulf and now flooding concerns spread northeastward all the way to new jersey. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, miami is going through a cold snap. no, we're not talking weather. we're talking nba basketball. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. it's been called cry gate and the team has been dubbed the miami weep. after losing their fifth straight, the heat have reason to shed tears. taking on the blazers, dwyane

wade got it done by himself in the fourth. he rejected brandon roy and took it the other way for the game dunk. the problem with miami is they can't close out games. moments later, marcus aldridge drained the turn around. blazers pulled away, and the heat lost once again. 105-96. tough week for basketball legend moses malone. kevin love tied his consecutive double-double record on monday and yesterday kobe bryant passed him for all-time scoring list. lakers won their eighth straight 101-87. college football, ohio state head coach jim tressel has been suspended two games and fined $250,000 for violating ncaa rules. you may remember back in december, five of his players were suspended for selling memorabilia. it turns out tressel knew about this months before and the ncaa was not notified then. how about this, former new

york giant running back tiki barber wants to return to the nfl. the 35-year-old has not played in five years but was one of the best in the league when he retired. they have no interest in resigning their former all-time rusher. from football to football, a man wearing nothing by a bright green thong ran out on a soccer match in london. after parade willing down, he was taken down with a vicious neck tackle. the streaker was arrested and the player was given a red card and booted from the game. a player is automatically ejected for attacking anyone on the field and i guess that includes a streaker. never has playing the role of peacemaker been so costly. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. >> narrator: early today sports is brought toy by ice blue aqua velva. clauses, contracts and lawsuits, your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, everyone loves a stupid criminal story, and this morning we have a winner. you're watching "early today."

it's going to be a sunny one here in los angeles. we'll also have it in phoenix. s 80 degrees. medford will be dry, but a few more clouds than you'll see sunshine. almost 60. seattle, the wet spot on the map. 55, the high today. now, tomorrow different story. the wet stuff kind of smashes into more of us here. boise will go to 57. san fran, 56, but rainshowers

there. the sun will spread eastward. denver, 63, and a quick look atlas lass right here. 35. wow. in the southern parts. anchorage as well. if you are watching us on kimr 6 in palm springs, california, view drawings, photographs, and models of both sustainable and beautiful architecture at steel and shade at the palm springs art museum. that's your pacific event of the day. >> thanks, ginger. now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. first, tmz reports charlie sheen has a so-called michael j. fox clause in his "two and a half men" contract which provides sheen is to be paid as long as the show runs even if he leaves. meanwhile, sources say the show's producer, chuck lorre has been in touch with reps for the rob lowe about replacing sheen. lindsay lohan is accused of the surveillance store she allegedly stole a necklace from

because they sold a copy of the tape without her giving them the right to use her image for profit. lohan is also trying to stop her father, michael's, plan to show up at her hearing tomorrow with an entire camera crew from "celebrity rehab" in to you. finally, lady gaga is suing that london ice cream shop that sold ice cream made from breast milk. yes, breast milk. she wants to sue them for trademark infringement because they called it baby gaga. thankfully, we have to warn our viewers, it has been taken off the shelves. it's not being sold anymore, but just the fact that it ever was. >> and that she's suing. it's not lady. it was baby, right? >> it was -- it was -- yeah. i don't know if we want to think about that. lady gaga, you know, she apparently wants the rights to gaga, whichç may be pretty difficult, but we'll see. best of luck. and this comes to us from kgw news channel 8 in portland,

oregon, where dialing 911 seemed to be the best option for a burglar convinced that he broke into the wrong house. after his successful intrusion, the suspect decided to take a shower before leaving. before he could make a getaway, the owner returned home. frightened by her german shepherds and afraid she might own guns, the burglar locked himself in the bathroom and called police for help, gladly exchanging his rescue for his arrest. actually got to hear the 911 call earlier this morning. i looked that up. >> the operator is literally, like, you broke into a house? >> wait. you broke in? >> he just says, yeah. yeah. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

step aside, paul the octopus. two heads are apparently better than one. magdolina, the tortoise born with two heads and five legs has been chose tony predict the ice hockey championship in slovakia this year. like a pair of siamese twins, their embryos didn't separate properly during pregnancy. but the duo has two brains that work independently from one another. no word on how they'll decide on a winner. the end of carnival has arrived. ten days of celebration came to a close with a grand finale in venice during a nighttime gondola parade throughout the city. over 60,000 people watched traditional row boats and gondolas float silently along the candle lit grand canal.

the water parade took place precisely at midnight, drawing a curtain over this year's festivities. the royal couple are making their rounds before their highly anticipated wedding celebrating a beloved tradition. prince william and kate middleton showed off their chef skills by flipping pancakes for a crowd in northernç ireland. the pancake toss celebrates a tradition that mark the day before lent, and the crowd went wild for the pair who managed to master the flap jack flip. you know, this roll-out of the royal couple has gone flawlessly. no major gaffs. >> i don't know who can do a pancake like that. did they practice before they got there? >> exactly. it's like they have -- they truly are perfect. well, time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. in arizona tucson shooting suspect jared loughner will be arraigned on new charges inside the same courthouse once preceded over by district judge john, one of the victims of the

tragedy. last wee week he was indicted on 49 felony counts. sdmrifshlgts the space shuttle discovery is on the verge of ending its nearly 27 year flying career. it's expected to land for the last time today at the kennedy space center in florida. a piece of music history could be yours. over 70 guitars from eric clapton's personal collection will be auctioned off in new york. all day long, can you 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." finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on "the today show". the man with the golden voice, ted williams, speaks out live to meredith vieira about spending two stints in rehab in the past three months, and find out from tennis star serena williams how soon she could be back on the court after her recent health struggles. 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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