♪ this morning on "early today," desperate measures. the world watches and waits as japan tries to contain its nuclear crisis. survival instinct, incredible new video of heroic rescues during last week's catastrophic tsunami. and royal jewel, the see-through dress that caught a prince's eye sells for a see-through dress that caught a prince's eye sells for a whopping sum. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation. i'm lynn berry. today, we begin with a race against the clock.

japan raise the the a virity rating of the nuclear crisis from four to five putting it on par with the three mile island disaster of 1979. japan is desperately trying to reconnect power to critical cooling systems at the fukushima power plant. fire engines are blasting tons of water into the hot zone. nbc's brian moore reports. >> reporter: tons of water, the difference between salvation and catastrophe at japan's stricken nuclear plant. >> the situation remains very serious. but there's been no significant worsening since yesterday. the cloud billowing from the fukushima plant on wednesday was all but gone thursday, but the possibility of a meltdown is still very real. president obama is promising

whatever help the united states can muster. >> we're sharing expertise, equipment and technology so that the courageous responders on the scene have the benefit of american teamwork and support. >> reporter: u.s. experts believe it could be weeks before this emergency is resolved and americans are being urged to flee a 50-mile area around the plant. on our shores, radiation monitoring has been stepped up on the west coast as a precaution. >> we do not expect harmful levels of radiation to reach the west coast, hawaii, alaska or u.s. territories in the pacific. >> reporter: u.s. airports are now screening passengers and cargo coming out of japan. >> we have seen no radiation, by the way, even on incoming cargo or passengers that comes close to reaching a harmful level. >> reporter: in tokyo, experts say radiation levels are still below harmful levels, but anxiety is rising. the pentagon is now organizing a voluntary evacuation of american military families and citizens

who want to get out. brian mooar, nbc news, washington. well, one week since japan's worst ever disaster, new stunning footage has emerged from a local japanese news crew. they were in a taxi seconds before catastrophe struck. carl dennin of england's channel 4 tells us their story. >> reporter: these are the decisions that keep you alive. stay in the car or run for it? they run, telling the driver to do the same. they find a building. the water pooling at their feet now. as they climb the stairs, the tsunami bursts through the corridor. they reach the window as two huge red containers sweep across the path.

leaving the taxi was a good decision. it's now floating. but not everyone made shelter. there's a woman on the wall, a man in a tree, and standing on a car roof, a father clutching his two young children. someone finds a fire hose. it becomes a rope. as dusk falls, a human chain is formed and reaches the children. despite the aftershocks, despite the snow, they pass the children from person to person across the tops of shipping containers. >> just remarkable there. elsewhere, the united nations security council has

authorized, quote, all necessary measures to stop moammar gadhafi in libya, including strikes by sea and air. the resolution, which cleared yesterday with the backing of the u.s., france and england also imposed a no-fly zone over libya. the vote was 10-0 with five the libyan government responded by closing air space to all traffic. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. in hawaii, a store security camera captured another example of the strength of last week's tsunami. powerful waves crashed through the glass windows of a clothing store. the shop owner had only been open for six months. fortunately she has insurance that will help cover the damage. in ohio, cascading rocks made driving conditions very dangerous along one road in the eastern part of the state. this was the third rock slide in a week, forcing officials to shutdown traffic in both directions. cleanup crews have a big job

ahead of them, but are being kept away until the hillside is stable. finally, in florida, it may have been the luck of the irish or a large appetite that earned one man the fastest eater title at the annual corn beef sandwich eating contest. a crowd of 200 watched as competitors chowed down for ten minutes. the winner, joey chestnut, you know him, right? downed 14 1/2 sandwiches taking home a $12,500 check. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. i like that grin. >> i'm thinking to pimyself wha is corn beef. >> you don't want to know. >> i probably don't. i know what corn is, i know what beef is i don't know what corn beef is. let's talk about the

temperatures out there. good morning, much of the country is enjoying a spring break and warm weather. the west is not. it's rare to have the whole country nice. we'll see rainfall developing and another storm system ghos on sunday. and you can see the spinning motion of the big area of low pressure off the coast. a big huge dip in the jet stream out here. and the worst of this storm system is mostly going to be central and northernle california. i know the esierra will gets a much as two feet of snow. the storm system will move further to the zhou and evsouth los angeles has a chance of getting the rain. we' so have the umbrella with yo

bakersfield trying to hold on to some of that warmth along with arizona. weekend draft coming up and not the best. >> all right. bill, thanks. i think. also coming up, stocks rebound, more signs of a strengthening economy and who is bragging about being america's number two soda? your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, this weekend at the box office, bradley cooper undergoes the first true test of his star power. coming up, march madness at its finest on day one of the ncaa tournament. 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. in a largely symbolic vote, the

republican controlled house has voted to end federal funding for national public radio. the bill is almost certain to fail in the democrat-controlled senate. controversial former haitian president jean bertrand aristide is headed back to his country after seven years of exile in south africa. american officials tried to keep aristide away from haiti until after this weekend's presidential runoff amid concerns he could destabilize the process. in a scathing new report, the justice department says new orleans police officers have often used deadly force without justification, made unconstitutional arrests and engaged in racial profiling. the city's mayor called the findings sobering, but not surprising. in the wake of japan's nuclear crisis, american poison control centers are getting reports of people who have ingested potassium iodide. government officials have warned against taking the pill.

the risk of ideation in the u.s. is negligible. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,774 after adding 161 points yesterday. the s&p gained 16 points and the nasdaq was up 19. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei climbed 244 points while in hong kong, the hang seng rose 15. after three days of losses, thursday wall street made a luke warm comeback. recent drops brought out the bargain hunters, but volume was low and options activity shows investors hedging against another fall in stocks. volatility could resume today as the so-called quadruple witching period ends. quadruple witching involves the monthly settlement of various stock options and futures. signs of an improving economy helped cool japan fears. a mid atlantic manufacturing jumped to the highest point since january 1984. new applications for unemployment benefits last week

fell more than expected. ongoing claims dropped to the lowest level in 2 1/2 years. bellwether fedex forecast improved revenue on strong demand, lifting shares more than 3%. on the down side, consumer prices edged higher than forecasted in february. oil rose along with stocks, up 3.40 a barrel to over $101. the group of seven industrialized nations agreed thursday on a coordinated effort to help weaken the japanese yen which has surged to record levels. a stronger yen would hurt japan's exporters, dealing another blow to an already hobbled economy. gm suspended truck production next week at its shreveport, louisiana plant because of a part shortage due to the issues in japan. coke is the number one soda and now number two is diet coke

ending pepsi's long run as the runner up to regular coca-cola. coming up, day one of the ncaa tournament is filled with drama and excitement, including more bids to become the first giant killer. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and i don't think anyone is going to complain. this is our last winter weekend. we welcome in spring. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, if day one of march madness is any indication, it's going to be one heck of a tournament. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. unless, of course, you're a louisville fan. moorehead state pulled off the first upset of the tournament, ousting number three louisville, the eagles. final seconds, stop and pop from beyond the arc gave moorehead the lead with two ticks left. moorehead state upsets louisville, 62-61. moorehead will play richmond after they pulled off an upset.

richmond-vanderbilt, richmond up three. it seems like every tournament of 12 beats the five and this time it's richmond, they won it, 69-66. last year, butler made it to the title game. this year, they needed a buzzer beater to get out of the first round. matt howard right place, right time, right there with the lay-up. butler won it 60-58. they'll play pitt tomorrow. another wild finish between penn state and temple, tied at 64. juan fernandez looked like he was out of options. how about that option? temple advances to play san diego state, 66-64. michigan state almost pulled off the improbable against ucla. rallied from 23 down. cut the lead to 2. called for traveling. gutsy call, but the right call. ucla escapes, 78-76. survive and advance is the name of the game and that's exactly what kentucky did against princeton.

tied at 57, brandon knight hit his only bucket of the game. the winner with two seconds left, kentucky won it, 59-57. sydney was brought to tears during his news conference. another example of the agony of defeat that can be found during march madness. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. will a battle with aliens dominate this weekend's battle at the box office? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, all of america, including america's children open their hearts and their piggy banks to the people of japan. you're watching "early today."

let's talk about the forecast. it's a wet one with rain in northern california. chance of showers and stores up around portland. saturday the storm system begins to must have through. rain sures contingu s rain sures continhowers on the . sunday will be a soaker, heavier rains in even southern california. if you're watching us on in bend, oregon, view a checks of paintings that explore the roots of our pacific northwest culture and that's your pacific event of the day. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in

entertainment. can earth's fight against attacking aliens become the first back to back champion? the experts think so. they think "battle: los angeles" will come in first. bradley cooper's role is about a man that takes a brain pill offering him limitless possibilities a close second. the comedy "paul" earned $12 million overseas, but experts here say this weekend, no top spot. matthew mcconaughey launched into fame as a lawyer in "time to kill." with "the lincoln lawyer" expectations aren't very high. finally, remember the dress kate middleton wore? it sold at auction for $105,000 thursday in london. it was expected to sell for only around $15,000.

we use the term dress loosely. >> you tell me that was similar to the out fit you met your husband in. >> he met a ring on it, that's for sure. this comes to us from kxas if nbc 5 in dallas, texas, where children across the city are using a classic kid business to help others. several lemonade stands have popped up in front yards with the goal of helping japan relief efforts. the kids were inspired to do something after seeing the amazing destruction. even though the suffering is on the other side of the world, these kids just want to make a difference. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

irish eyes were smiling in dublin on thursday. despite their country's current economic woes, half a million revelers lined the streets to watch as marching bands, floats and acrobats passed by. the hour-long festival officially killed off a four-day celebration of st. patrick, ireland's patron saint. when you see this next video, you'll understand why one world record wasn't enough. 263 people banned together to accomplish the unthinkable, successfully pulling a 757 with three planes attached. it earned the record of heaviest

plane pulled, but that wasn't enough. tugging just the 747, they earned a title for heaviest aircraft pulled over 170 meters. he's the model for healthy living, but more importantly, he looks pretty cool doing it. at 103 years old, or rather young, there is nothing that can stop this long beach resident for taking his red and white tricycle for a ride every day. he recently traded in his two wheeler for that three wheeler because of his wife's concern for his safety. >> he looks like a better driver than a lot of people i know. >> he's better at riding a bike than i am. it's pretty adorable. >> we have to give him a belt. >> absolutely. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. new zealand will observe a national memorial day in memory of those killed during a tragic earthquake that struck the country february 22nd. england's prince william is

expected to be among the attendees at the memorial service. back here at home, former president bill clinton will be in los angeles to accept the 2011 william o. douglas award. and happy birthday to one of the nation's most prolific almost gold medalists. speed skater bonnie blair turns 47 today. 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. ann curry reports live on the latest developments surrounding japan's crippled nuclear reactor. and meredith vieira takes you behind the scenes on a tour of the home where prince william and his bride to be, kate middleton, will live after their big day. 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