this morning on "early today," turning the tide. libyan forces stage a massive counterattack sending rebels fleeing. road hazard, surveillance video captures a spectacular deadly car crash in new york city. and rest in peace? how nascar fans may soon be able to make dey toe in a international speedway their final destination. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm veronica de la cruz. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone. today we begin with rebels in

retreat. opposition forces in libya are in flight once again including the key port of ras lanuf, following a barrage of rockets by moammar gadhafi's forces. meanwhile, secretary of state hillary clinton and defense secretary robert gates are expected to get tough questions today as they brief congress on the mission in libya. steve handelsman has more. >> reporter: as the u.s. role in the libyan air war gets smaller and nato gets set to take over command, moammar gadhafi is not giving up or getting out. his forces counter attack, pushing libyans back, targeting civilians in rebel-held towns. >> gadhafi is using snipers to shoot people down and let them bleed to death in the street. >> reporter: at secretary of state clinton's meeting with u.s. allies in london, topic one was the dictator. qatar's prime minister. >> we urge gadhafi and his people to leave and not to cause

any more bloodshed. >> reporter: but so far, it's the libyan leader's call and he says no. >> i'm not sure that we know exactly when we will get to any change in attitude by gadhafi. >> reporter: president obama told brian williams, economic and diplomatic pressure could force gadhafi out. >> our expectation is that as we continue to apply steady pressure not only militarily but through other means that gadhafi will ultimately step down. >> reporter: president obama ruled out using u.s. ground troops, but capitol hill is splintered. >> forcing gadhafi to leave power, i disagree with the president saying that the use of force should be ruled out. >> reporter: the lesson so far is that america and our allies have used violence to save many libyan lives, but have failed to remove moammar gadhafi from power. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. almost a year after the start of the gulf coast oil

disaster, the justice department is considering manslaughter charges in the deaths of 11 workers killed when the deepwater horizon rig exploded. according to "the washington post," any such charges would probably involve bp or transocean which leaked the rig to bp. a bp employee has lost a laptop containing the personal data of 18,000 people who filed claims because of the disaster. bp has mailed letters notifying them of the potential breach. the u.s. government says it is sending robotic equipment to japan to help the country regain control of its crippled nuclear plant. such devices built to withstand radiation, they could work presumably in areas where radiation levels could harm or kill humans. meanwhile, the japanese government is now admitting what many assumed, that its safeguards to protect the facility against an earthquake and tsunami were inefficient. they recorded levels more than

3,000 times the level of radioactive iodine, the highest rate yet. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. in new york city, chilling security videotape captured a tragic car crash early tuesday morning. the car hit a guardrail before flipping over and crashing through a set of glass doors, killing a pedestrian. police say the man behind the wheel lost control of the vehicle while exiting a bridge. the driver and passenger are reported in stable condition. in miami, a 25-year-old woman was thrown to the ground by a policeman attempting to make an arrest. video that was posted on youtube shows members of a rowdy crowd becoming hostile when the cop showed up to arrest the woman who, according to a police report, was thrown out of a fashion show for unruly behavior. she was later charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. in chicago gunfire from a moving vehicle sent a bus

crashing into a utility pole. at least a dozen people were injured by flying shards of flying glass. it is unclear whether any of the vehicles were the target of a shooting. so far, no arrests have been made. all you die-hard nascar fans, you may soon have a final resting place at the track. that's right, florida lawmakers are considering a proposal to build a facility for fan's ashes to be stored in urns at the daytona international speedway for all of eternity. huh. okay. now for a look at your national and regional weather here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. daytona will be where nascar fans go -- >> go to rest? i mean that's the mecca, that's the super bowl of nascar, so -- >> crazy. >> if you're going to do it anywhere, do it there. let's talk about how the weather pattern is changing for the good for some of us, including many areas of the west. right now all the storms have shifted further to the north at

least temporarily we'll get a break and get really nice spring weather. this is a huge moisture feed, a hose of moisture coming out over the pacific and that is riding right into the northwest, so the pacific northwest, this isn't a great forecast for you. your friends to the south are just going to get great weather with mild conditions and in some of the warmest temperatures we've seen so far this year. today at least heavy rain on the coast, heavy rain in the mountains, mostly a coastal and mountain event. we're getting the rain shadow, and the cities themselves won't get the real heavy rain but the mountains will and with the warmer temperatures and the rain we have flooding concerns with the river. the forecast today, milder air, temperatures warming up into the upper 50s, phoenix near 90, vegas owe 80s. san diego to l.a. looking warmer and nicend bakersfield looking

moisture. once again the heaviest rain in the mountains. veronica, you can be jealous as can be, we'll be warmer tomorrow in areas of the west, the forecast coming up. >> thanks for that, bill. where is the hottest spot on the map? >> definitely right around the phoenix area. >> hmm, 91 degrees, i saw that. oil business profits, japan's parts shortage worsens and the newest william and kate product to hit the market. your "early" morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, hear why george clooney's name is being mentioned along with world leaders, orgies and prostitutes. coming up the women's final four is set. thunder and warriors need overtime and sweet revenge for the cavaliers. you're watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm veronica de la cruz. here are some of your top headlines this morning. a wisconsin judge has issued a new order blocking that state's controversial law eliminating bargaining rights for public workers. delivering a certain rebuke yesterday, she said her previously ruling earlier this month had either been "misinterpreted or ignored." governor scott walker's administration had insisted the law was in effect because a state agency had published it by posting it on a website. in an effort to improve bilateral relations with cuba, former president jimmy carter sat down with rue ban leader raul castro yesterday in havana. although carter insists he was not in the country regarding a prisoner, he did discuss the case with cuban officials. alabama health officials say the maker of an intravenous feeding bags was found to be

contaminated with bacteria. nine hospital patients died and others were sickened after being treated with the bags. investigators in germany are trying to determine what caused a tankership to explode as it was being filled with gasoline monday night. it took firefighters all night to get the blaze under control and fortunately no one was hurt. >> and now here's an early look at one of your top health headlines on msnbc.com. researchers in england have found longer pregnancy and breast-feeding leads to larger species brain size and longer life. 128 mammals found brain size at birth was determined by length of pregnancy. brain growth after birth was determined by length of breast-feeding. so time and energy invested by a mother to develop brain size increased a species life span. for more info on this and other health stories, head to the web and check out the health page online at msnbc.com.

>> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,279 after gaining 81 points yesterday. the s&p added 9 points. the nasdaq rose 26. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei climbed 249 points while in hong kong, the hang seng was up 391. wall street is still in a wait and see mode saw its second lowest volume of the year tuesday, but at least stocks rose. they started lower after home prices dropped for a seventh straight month in january. only washington, d.c., saw gains. because of that, and the surprise profit for the later quarter home builder lenar fell 3%. investors shrugged off consumer confidence in march, falling for the second time in six months. oil surged to just under $105 a barrel, 20% higher in just a month. oil stocks rose for a fifth straight session with that sector's value at its highest

since august 2008. ge, a large stockholder in this network, is buying 90% of convert team, a french energy equipmentmaker for more than $3 billion. tuesday, japan's automakers said it would stop ordering parts. starting today, it will be cutting north american production. know yo and blackberry warned due to disrupted supply it faces troubles. home depot jumped almost 3% on its billion dollar stock buyback. amazon.com rose after introducing a remote access music service ahead of rivals apple and google. cisco buying software company new scale for an undisclosed amount also rose. finally, pez has come up with william and kate dispensers that will be auctioned for charity in april. no, the candy will not come out of their mouths. the royal couple dispense from their chests.

hmm. an unusual equipment problem on the ice. oklahoma city brings the thunder and the women's version of final four march madness is decided. plus, lebron james can't take the heat on a return trip to cleveland. yours early" morning sports headlines are straight ahead. finally, temperatures are beginning to warm up, but the stormy weather continues. your wednesday forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, upon choosing to leave the cleveland cavaliers for free agency, lebron james knew he would have to go back there some day. nevertheless, last night, he tried to avoid the fans as much as possible. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. there is no way the cleveland cavaliers are going to win the title or even make the playoffs this year, but they got the one they wanted. they beat lebron james. >> at forward, number 6, lebron jaimes. [ booing ] >> okay. but where is he? james is hiding out in the locker room and missed player introductions to avoid the boos. he entered the arena under darkness where the cavs were being introduced. everyone in the building saw

this buzzer beater and the cavs up 11 at the break. despite the jeers, lebron played pretty well. but this night belonged to the cavs. they were up by as many as 23. they went on to beat the heat, 102-90. a pair of buzzer beaters in that game, how about one more? kevin durant heaved one up and got it against golden state. he finished with 39. to the fourth, final seconds, warriors down three. ellis stole the inbound pass and hit from beyond the arc to send it into overtime. jumper for the win, off the mark. and the thunder held on, 115-114. college hoops like the men, uconn women's team is in the final four. lady huskies routed duke. 75-40. they've got notre dame next. texas a&m upset baylor to advance to their first final four. they'll stay on stanford. finally funny moment in the kings/oilers game. where is the puck?

a little giggle, a wiggle and nothing. where is the tsa officer when you need him? finally the puck came loose. that's one way to control a rebound. kings won it, 2-0. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. what will justin bieber be up to when he's 30? we'll tell you what a new poll says people think. your "early" morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, special classroom visitors come and go, but we'll show you one group of students yesterday that welcomed the ultimate surprise visitor. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this wednesday. we're going to see nice weather in portions of the west. other areas not so pleasant. rain, heavy rain, coastal areas of washington, oregon and in the mountains. the cities that are in the valleys, you're going to get a little block, a rain shadow we call it, not as heavy rain. further to the south, beautiful weather, temperatures 80s from southern california to arizona and then you get warmer on thursday. look apt the beautiful conditions, into central california gorgeous weather. watching us on news channel 8 in portland, oregon, learn about the polar bear and its coastal habitat through a series of photographs at "the last polar bear" at the world forestry center. that's your pacific event of the day. >> did you see the little guys? >> just a couple ahhs and oohs.

now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. lindsay lohan hasn't had a lot of legal success lately but her luck hasn't totally run out. california's riverside d.a. will not file charges against lohan altercation against a betty ford staffer due to lack of evidence. the public is cynical when it comes to young talent. a new poll shows about 30% of americans believe justin bieber will be in rehab by the time he reaches 30. 18% think bieber will be married and quietly living somewhere. hmm. a lawyer for italian prime minister silvio berlusconi facing trial for paying for sex says actor george clooney may be called to testify by the defense team. clooney deny he and his girlfriend attended parties at the palace during orgies and strip shows. he said the only time he ever met the prime minister was to

ask for help for darfur. this comes to us from new york city where some of the nation's best and brightest got a surprise visit from the commander in chief. president obama made an unscheduled stop at the new york city science and engineering fair after a speech at the museum of natural history tuesday. he toured the displays from the city's largest high school research competition, which boasts more than 1,000 participants. students got to show off their cutting edge designs, shake hands and bump fists with the nation's leader. can you imagine that, bill, just the president stopping by. >> you have the science fair showing off your exhibit and all of the sudden you hear the big crowd, rush of camras. >> doing the fist bump with obama, come on. >> fist bump with the president. i'm veronica de la cruz and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

england's royal couple are popping off the pages, literally. that's because they're featured at paper cutouts and pop-up features in a new book. 50,000 copies are being sold and more are being printed. outfits they can be dressed in include kate's blue dress and william's royal air force uniform. speaking of royals, a pair of tiny santas got the royal treatment in madrid. stepping outside, the panda duo was accompanied by queen sophia of spain. visitors will be able to see the cubs with the help of zookeepers next beak.

po and dada were born late last year. they are too cute. recently, a rare visitor boasted california's coastline. they bathed in the sun. the typical sea lion weighs around 600 pounds, but this one is three times the size. only 500 of the endangered species live along the state's coast. they can reach 10 feet in length and weigh up to 2,500 pounds. all right, bill, that guy is saying, out of my way. >> he's going, "i'm a big boy and i've got a lot of blubber." >> seriously. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. 30 years ago, then president ronald reagan was shot in a failed assassination attempt. by john hinckley jr. also shot, three of reagan's aides, including press secretary jim brady who will be in washington today using the anniversary to call members of congress for tighter curbs on firearms. in there are the whale that killed a sea world trainer will

return to performances at the park today. sea world has made several modifications for trainer safety in the wake of the death. finally, celebrating his 66th birthday today, guitar legend eric clapton. happy birthday. all day long, you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. tonight be sure to watch brian williams with nbc "nightly news." and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up this morning on the "today" show. learn about a new online hookup site for students at the university of chicago that is raising some eyebrows. and funny man russell brand stops by to talk about his two new films. the family comedy "hop" and remake of the dudley moore classic "arthur." now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm veronica de la cruz. thank you so much for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. enjoy your wednesday and we'll see you tomorrow. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com