this morning on "early today" setting the stage. president obama is officially running for re-election in 2012. flight risk? a new scare on a southwest airlines flight after a five foot gash forces an emergency landing friday night. and danger zone. storm chasers get up close and personal with a twister in kansas. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello, and good morning. i'm lynn berry. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone.

today we begin with the road to 2012. in an e-mail to supporters this morning president obama announced his re-election bid formally placing himself in the running for a second term. in the message the president said he intends to feel papers later today allowing him to begin raising money for his campaign war chest, which analysts say may approach a record $1 billion. the e-mail directs supporters to his new campaign website where a launch video featured snippetts from supporters testifying about their continued backing of the democrat. elsewhere small subsurface cracks have been found in three more southwest airlines planes after a federal investigation was launched find out if a similar crack caused part of a 737 to tear off in midair on friday. last night a southwest flight from oakland to san diego was diverted to los angeles for an emergency landing. officials say because of a burning smell in the passenger cabin, which is being

investigated. the problems could lead to checks on similar planes and cancellations throughout the airline industry. nbc's francis coe reports. >> reporter: ntsb investigators removed the damaged section from the plane on sunday. in washington d.c. the investigation continues into what caused the lap joint in the skin of the aircraft to rupture, ripping a five foot hole in the roof and forcing the crew to make an emergency landing. >> we did find evidence of widespread cracking across this entire fracture surface. >> reporter: damages along one of the plane's lap joints that were not detected during regular maintenance checks. >> what the issue is that along this particular lap joint it was not known in the industry that this was an area on airplanes of this number of cycles that those lap joints should be inspected. >> reporter: boeing, the maker of the 737 300 is drafting a

service bulletin to require special inspections of the lap joints in all of its 737s with comparable takeoff and landing cycles. southwest airlines has returned 19 of its grounded 737 300s to service after extended inspections following friday's incident. the ntsb says three of its jets were found to have cracks similar to those found on flight 812. over the weekend the airline was forced to cancel at least 600 flights. >> i would rather be on the safe side and get in later than take a chance, rush something through, and then have something really bad happen. >> reporter: those cancellations could linger into the coming week. francis coe, nbc news. saturday night u.s. air strikes over libya were supposed to end, but american planes pounded target in the country sunday and will continue to do so through tonight. thanks to poor weather over the weekend, nato asked for a

48-hour extension to help roll back progress for forces loyal to qadhafi. during the weekend rebels were pushed further east out of key oil complexes of ros lanuf and bregga. an envoy of muammar qadhafi that met with greece's prime minister yesterday said the libyan leader wants to end the fighting in his country and is looking for a political or diplomatic way out of the crisis. according to the "new york times", at least two of qadhafi's sons are pushing a solution that involves pushing their father aside to make way for a transition to democracy under their direction. however, it's thought qadhafi himself, nor the rebels seeking his ouster, would likely sign up for such a proposal. well, now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. basketball fans in virginia became an unruly mob after virginia commonwealth was ousted from the ncaa's final four. police in riot gear faced off

with the fans using pepper spray and smoke to subdue the crowd. dozens were arrested and several small fires were set, but there was no serious damage. in kansas a couple of storm chasers wound up smack in the middle of a possible tornado. the men captured footage of strong winds and dark clouds sweeping across their vehicle and nearby planes. the possible twister was spawned by a more massive system sweeping through the midwest. in california people took to the streets to feather their foes in the fourth annual celebration of international pillow fight day. the large pillow fight in los angeles was one of dozens of locations world wythed where hundreds staged feathered and fun-filled brawls. the event ended peacefully and without incident. just some good times. finally to new york where a 60 foot flag was flown in honor of those killed on september 11th. the patriots flag, as it's being called, was hoisted by two

ladder trucks. the event was one of several planned in the months leading up to the tenth anniversary of the attacks. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with your forecast. good morning, bill. >> good morning, lynn. welcome back to you. our friends on the west coast had a decent weekend. heat wave was over with in many areas. cold front has gone through. middle of the country, that's where the severe weather is this morning. if anyone is flying across the country, maybe a lot of airport delays, especially from the dallas area northwards up into the great lakes. now as far as our weather in the west coast, recommendtively calm. the cold front has shifted through now all the way down to much of arizona. we do have moisture up there in the pacific northwest. this storm system is going to linger over the next couple of ç days. it's not a big robust storm, but there's going to be some areas of rain and also mild temperatures. we we want from hot to mild, and i think many people will take it. as far as the radar goes, there is light rain out there this morning from portland northward to olympia, and a lot of heavy rain up in the mountainous areas, especially the 0e78s, and

there are avalanche warnings. remember all the snow we have we had? the warm temperatures and rain, they're concerned with that. the forecast today, rain and showers in seattle to portland to medford, california. you look nice today along with our friends in arizona and santa rosa looks great. tucson, low humidity, and less windy, 70s today. tuesday forecast coming up, len, and it's going to be eerily similar. >> bill, thank you. also coming up, wall street welcomes april. bp wants back into the gulf, and the april fool's business offer that customers actually want. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, hopping and skipping to the number one spot at the box office. also, home run derby at yankee stadium. the first triple play of the

season, and two huge upsets in the womens final four. you're watching "early today."

good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. and here's some of your top headlines this morning. according to this morning's ""new york times"" the u.s. has concluded yemen's president, once considered an ally in fighting a branch of al qaeda, is unlikely to enact reform and should leave power. today reports say at least 12 protesters were killed when security forces opened fire in one city while hundreds were said to be injured in another after police unleashed tear gas on protesters. highly radioactive wart continues to seep into the ocean from japan's crippled nuclear plant after a failed attempt to seal a leak with an absorbant polymer, saw dust, and shredded paper. for the first time, japanese officials are admitting

controlling the situation may take months. violent protests are spreading across afghanistan over a florida pastor's burning of the koran in march. three days of clashes have now left at least 20 people dead, with demonstrators calling for u.s. troops to leave the country. gendavid petraeus condemned the koran burning saying it was "hateful, intolerant, and extremely disrespectful." and a potential space traffic jam and squabble. may 4th the space shuttle endevour to delay its last scheduled launch. "the daily beast" reports the liftoff may be pushed back because the russians have a cargo ship slated to dock at the space station at the same time. now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,376 after gaining 56 points on friday. the s&p added six points. the nasdaq was up eight. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo the nikkei climbed ten points, while in hong kong the hang seng rose 348.

despite all types of upheaval abroad, after last friday's government jobs report, many are convinced wall street and the american economy are finally turning a corner. employment recorded a second straight month of solid gains in march, and the jobless rate fell to a two-year low. as a result, the dow hit its highest trading level friday since june 2008. this week the s&p 500 stands poised to hit its highest mark in nearly three years. another reason to be optimistic? since 1950, the dow has averaged a 2% gain every april. elsewhere, customers of companies, including citigroup, walgreens, tivo, capital one, and thousands of college students had their names and e-mails exposed after a hacker penetrated on-line marketer epsilon. the "wall street journal" reports the senate probe into the mortgage meltdown will soon point the finger, particularly, at goldman sachs and deutsche

bank. both have been criticized for misleading investors in the housing market. the "new york times" reports almost a year after the nation's worst environmental disaster. bp is asking u.s. regulators to let it resume drilling in the gulf, and transocean, the company bp leased its rig from, gave 207 executives bonuses for achieving the "best year in safety performance in our company's history." despite the explosion, 11 people dying, and millions of gallons spilling into the gulf. ryanair are upset on an april fool's promise was just a joke. the airline offered to introduce child-free flights later this year. well, coming up, march madness spills into april in the women's final four, and it's never too early for a triple play in baseball. plus, no rust to shake off. the tigers and yankees deliver an early season slugfest. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead.

a strong cold front will produce severe thunderstorms in the ohio valley and the southeast today. your monday forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this ç is "early today." and in sports, arch rivals for decades, on both coasts. yesterday the giants and dodgers

ended up their exciting season-opening series. here's nbc's mario solis with a look at all of your sports headlines. hi there, good morning. the first weekend of the baseball season is in the books. let's get right to it. first stop, los angeles. the dodgers took 3 of 4 from the defending champion giants. andre capping off a four-run seventh inning with an rbi single. dodgers go up 7-3, and hold on to win 7-5. home run derby in new york, yankees and tigers combining for seven homers, jorge posada and miguel cabrera hit a pair. tigers win 10-7. many believe the red sox are the team to beat but don't count out the defending a.l. champion rangers. consistents kintzler and nelson cruz made history. they're the first set of teammates to homer in each of the first three games of the season. they sweep the series with a 5-1 win. alexei makes a diving play. runners going on the pitch.

santana throws a pitch to first for two outs and to second for three. a triple play. the first one the sox have hit into in 33 years. indians win 7-1. to kansas city, angels and royals tied in the ninth 13-13. a three-run walkoff homer break up the royals. they start the season 3-1 after a 12-9 win. two shocking upsets in the women's final four. stanford and texas a&m. cardinals down one. a tough lay-up. stanford takes it lead. doesn't last. aggies, no time-outs. they go coast-to-coast. tyra white puts them back on top. four second left. texas a&m advances to the final game, 63-62. that was big. nothing was bigger than what notre dame did. down six at the half. the irish rally to beat the mighty lady huskies of uconn. there will be a new national champion this year. notre dame knock odd of the number one seed 72-63. that's the look at sports on

"early today" sports, i'm mario solis. charlie sheen takes it on the road and makes quick changes in his show. the "early today" morning headlines are ahead. from periods of time experts to just plain fans, millions made their predictions of who would reach the ncaa's final four. coming up, the one person who is very unscientific choices beat out the rest. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this monday morning. severe weather outbreak is hope you had a nice weekend. the weather today, dress the kids. you'll be just fine in much of california, nevada, and utah. the only problem spot is maybe wear the raincoat up in the northwest. it's not miserable, but there are areas of rain once again from medford northward right along the coastal sections. interior areas will get a little less. the mountains, the highest of elevations could get snow mixing in. not a lot changes this week. tuesday looks the same. still the moisture feed come ofç the pacific. we're in the 50s, but that chance of rain will continue along the northwest coast. well, if you are watching us on kntv nbc 11 in california's bay area, look through the lens at an american west photographed before 19th century development at pick touring modernity at the san francisco modern museum of art in san francisco.

that's our pacific event of the day. >> bill, thank you. a look at entertainment. with ticket sales at the box office sharply down, this weekend, a family film came to the rescue, "hop," a combined action animation comedy about a rabbit who will one day be the easter bunny took the number one spot coming in well above expectations with $38 million. source code collected $15 million in second place, and in third the horror film "insidious" with better than expected $13.5 million. after a ram belling charlie sheen was booed, heckled, and abandoned by an audience in his first tour show saturday night in detroit. last night in chicago sheen went to a talk show format which earned both a closing standing ovation and this not so rave review from one audience member saying, "at least no one was

booing." good start, right? this comes from kgw, news channel 8 in portland, oregon where in nearby jefferson, one librarian's whacky way of picking the final four has turned her into an overnight basketball guru. listen up, everyone. diana's method of march madness helped her beat out close to three million fans. her claim to fame? submitting the only tournament bracket with the correct final four plus the championship game matchups. her winning formula? four-legged mascots and the letter v carried more weight than xs and os. you want to know her big pick for the win? >> who does she have tonight? >> connecticut because the bulldogs look mean. that's like my style. >> do you feel the same way? >> i'm, like, where is it? i'm lynn berry, and this is your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

those looking to make a splash about the environment took to the pool in beijing. singing, dancing, and diving made up the extraordinary trip show in china. performers were telling the story of a couple's journey to restore the earth's water resources. some of the country's most famous artists took part in an effort to raise money for youth athletic programs. ahead of the royal wedding, girls everywhere are looking to be part of the fairy tale for a day. in london, aspiring princesses attended a tea party to learn proper etiquette including how to courtesy and greet the royal couple. the little ones may never find prince charming, if they happen

to bump into prince william, they know exactly how to say hello. when it comes to the royal etiquette, we're not sure how the queen would feel about this one. will and kate's love story is now on book shelves alongside spiderman. a comic book version of the courtship is on sale ahead of the big day. this story chronicles lives from childhood to university where the two collided over the now infamous dress which we put in quotation marks. >> dress. >> dress. >> i'm ready now. >> you're ready for it to be done. >> i'm ready. you went away. i changed. >> you're onboard. >> i can't get enough of this ç stuff. >> welcome. we have, what, 29, 28 more days. yeah, it's coming, bill, it's coming. >> i don't know if i eel make it, i'll try. a look at the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. the latest airline quality ratings will be release in a news conference in washington, d.c. this morning. the annual study delivers the

most comprehensive report card on the 16 largest air carriers. >> be sure to buckle up. today marks the start of national public health week. this year's theme -- safety is no accident. and it's aimed of educating americans ways to stay safe at home, at play, and on the road through injury prevention. happy birthday to the windy city, the city of chicago is celebrating the 164th birthday. those developments and others as they break on nbc. and watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." coming up on the "today" show, find out the details on whether southwest airlines' grounded planes are part of a larger problem with the aircraft. and laura bush is live in studio to talk about life after the white house. 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. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com