this morning on "early today," shutdown showdown. still no progress from congressional leaders as the clock ticks towards a potential government blackout. too little too late? libyan rebels lash out at nato forces for not doing enough to protect civilians. and close call, what caused tense hours on board the and close call, what caused tense hours on board the international space station. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers s acros

the nation. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with budget breakdown. the clock is ticking on the nation's expiring budget as congressional leaders fail to agree on a proposed spending plan that would keep the government up and running. for more on this, we go to nbc's tracie potts. good morning. >> lynn, good morning. as of this morning, they have missed the 72 hour deadline to get something in write, that something congress can work around, but the real challenge is there is no agreement to write down. >> applying that approach -- >> reporter: more negotiations it at the white house with a visibly frustrated president. >> we abilict like grown ups. we can't have a my way or the highway approach. >> reporter: he says democrats have agreed to $73 billion in budget cuts. >> the white house is proposing cuts that are far beyond things that we would imagine. >> reporter: but now they're

back and forth over what to cut. >> there's only so much that we can do. we have bent over backwards to try to be fair and reasonable. >> if we don't get agreements in the intervening time because of politics or whatever, at least in 2012, they will have a real choice. >> reporter: the budget cuts over $4 trillion in spending but the budget office says we'll be upside down for almost 30 years. >> the poor get poorer, they lose programs that are life and death to them. >> reporter: those are medicare would pay more. doctors could get less. and the poor could lose coverage. but first, this year's bunch net a stalemate and the president says no more extensions. after that white house meeting, house speaker boehner and harry reid sat down together, they had a private one-on-one to try to work these things out. but still no deal. >> all right, tracie potts,

thank you. morning there is good news from the japan nuclear plant. they've sealed a crack, but the plant is still far from out of the woods. officials there have not yet ruled out the possibility of other leaks. meanwhile, a new assessment by the nuclear regulatory commission is raising concerns that threats in japan could, quote, persist indefinitely. according to the "new york times," among the worries, whether pouring water on nuclear fuel in the absence of a functioning cooling system can be sustained. yesterday, president obama used the recent middle east turmoil to make a case for israelis and palestinians to make peace. meeting israeli president perez at the white house, mr. obama said that the region's uprising is, quote, more urgent than ever to find a resolution to the israel/palestinian conflict.

meanwhile, a group of israelis have formed a new group of peaceful agreements. it offers new new ideas, but it hopes it will encourage netanyahu to break the deadlock. back here residents in the nation's south remain without power this morning after violent storms pounded the region with tornados, hail and lightning yesterday. the storms were part of a fast moving system that cut a wide swath from the mississippi river across the region to georgia and the carolinas. at least nine people were killed including several who died on roads by downed trees and power lines. the national weather service has confirmed eight tornados among the two dozen reported. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. the hunt is on for a brazen gunman in kentucky after he executed two gas station robberies back to back. the clerk at the first incident

was not hurt. unfortunately, things became violent during the second robbery. the suspect shot that clerk in the leg before taking off with cash. the victim is expected to recover. well, new york's rockaway beach is not normally used as a landing strip, but the pilot of a single engine plane had no choice. the aircraft experienced what the pilot called a rough running engine before the emergency landing. the pilot and two passengers were able to walk away without receiving any medical treatment. finally, english adventurer richard branson was in california to unveil his single person submarine. he wants the vehicle to travel to the deepest depths of the earth's oceans. it will be piloted by chris welsh later this year in the pacific ocean and their goal is to descend to 36,000 feet.

now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins. >> you just taught me something. i didn't know could yyou could that far. >> gone. i'll have to find that out. >> we have changes taking place on the west coast. good morning, every. we had some mild temperatures especially in arizona and california, nevada, especially last week, but now we'll go through a cool period. you can see these clouds coming down underneath our little logo there and this is some cooler air from the mort. a pretty big deep trough will bring unsettled weather. we also have an upper level low spinning off the coast bringing clouds up here to southern california, so expect a mostly cloudy day today. in san diego, maybe even los angeles, some clouds spreading into arizona.

showery weather has been endless, but he is specially heavier rains this time around portland and mountains outside of portland. so today showers, maybe rumble of thunder, but definitely df t drier sports. even a chance of showers in arizona. as i mentioned respect temperatures will be very chilly. details coming up. >> thanks so much. and also coming up, the fed sits tight. there's chips and then there's chips. and a new way of shouting out for a beer at the ballpark. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, she is great at the glitz and glamour, but she got another less glamorous role to play. coming up, a new champ is crowned in women's college hoops and a price that brought uconn's

kemba walker to tears. 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 head of libya's rebel army is accusing nato of being too slow to order air strikes in the country, essentially allowing gadhafi's forces to slaughter residents in the city of misrata. nato claims the air strikes have not slowed since it took over from the united states last week. debbie wasserman schultz has been tapped to be the chair of the democratic national committee who will succeed tim kaine. he announced he's running for virginia's open senate seat in 2012. after a firestorm of criticism, wisconsin governor scott walker has reversed the promotion of the son of an

influential lobbyist to a high ranking state job paying more than $80,000 a year. democrats complained the appointment of the 27-year-old who has limited experience and no college degree amounted to cronyism. and a potential crisis was averted in space after an old fragment of a chinese satellite threatened to fly close to the international space station. normally, nasa would move the iss out of the way. but it was discovered too late. it missed the space station by a little more than three miles. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,393 after shedding six points on tuesday. the s&p lost a fraction. the nasdaq inched up two. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei fell 31 points. but in hong kong, the hang seng

added 134. it was another quiet day on wall street. minutes from the fed's latest meeting failed to move markets. basic materials companies got a boost from speculation that the cost of commodities will continue to rise. aluminum maker alcoa rose nearly 3%. newmont mining added 4. kb home builders loss 4% after a disappointing quarterly loss. national semiconductor soared 71% and lifted the tech sector thanks to texas instruments' plans to buy the chipmaker for $6.5 billion. a chip deal of a different kind. diamond foods is buying pringles from procter & gamble for $1.5 billion. apple dipped due to a rebalancing next month. microsoft, intel and cisco climbed 1%. a potential federal anti-trust probe into google's search

engine dominance dragged its shares 3% lower. five executives at transocean, the company that owned the rig at the center of last year's disaster are now donating their more than $250,000 bonuses to a fund for the victims' families. the decision comes just days after transocean issued the bonuses for what it called a year for safety. thirsty fans can now use twitter to tweet their beer order from their seat at the mariners stadium. using your noggin there, i love that. coming up, game winning singles and a hero's welcome for the huskies. plus, march madness comes to an end as the ncaa crowns the women's national champion. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. a storm system moving

through the west will head to the middle of the country on your thursday. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." >> sports, last night in indianapolis, irish eyes were crying after texas a&m took home their first women's national basketball championship.

here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. four games in the big leagues went to extra innings last night, but ladies first. we'll begin with the women's ncaa championship. off to indianapolis. texas and notre dame, daniell adams was a forced to be reckoned with down low. tyra white nailed a huge three in the final minutes to put the aggies up by five. the once all-boys school texas a&m won their first national championship in women's basketball, 76-70. to the diamond, a's squandered a five-point lead but appeared to be in the lead in the tenth to put oakland back on top. but no lead was safe in this one. escobar hit his first home run of the year. blue jays rallied to win it, 7-6. to new york, the twin completed a comeback in the 10th. minnesota rallied from 4 down to win it 5-4 in ten.

nationals, donny murphy ripped an rbi single into the gap and that scored the winning gap. florida won it, 3-2. do you see a trend here? royals and white sox needed extras. tied at six in the 12th. royals have won four straight in their final at-bat. they beat the white sox 7-6 in 12. finally, back to college hoops, the uconn huskies returned home to a hero's welcome after winning the national championship monday night. and kemba walker's jersey was retired. a memorable day capping off a memorable run for the huskies. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin.

well, your chance to own a piece of the duke. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, if you found one of these lying in the street, what would you do? you're watching "early today."

wet weather once again in

the northwest. in the heavy, but you will welcome that this morning as you head out the door in areas like port hand. social california, sprinkles are possible. cooler, too. even phoenix has a slight chance of seeing a shower. tomorrow a stronger storm system dives down the coast. much cooler temperatures. san francisco only 55 tomorrow. remember a couple weeks ago, you were in the 80s. if you're watching us on knbc, branch out and view a collection of art inspired by trees with practice ofs dating from the 1940s to came at in focus, the tree. at the getty museum. and that's your pacific event of the day. >> thank you. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. angelina jolie was in tunisia, appealing for increased aid for the people there who fled the

libyan conflict. she spoke with several families of refugee libyans. harvard announced comedian and massachusetts native amy pohler has been selected as this year's senior class day speaker. when appointed teen ambassador for raising awareness for teen pregnancy prevention, bristol palin said if she could prevent one girl from being pregnant, she would feel a sense of accomplishment. on that job in 2009, she earned more than $250,000. finally, john wayne's iconic eye patch from 1969's "true grit" is going up for auction. other items for auction, wayne's cap and boots, his driver's license, passport and am ex

card. so i guess his family got their inheritance and they want to give the fan as chance to open a piece of the duke. >> and father's day is not far away. could you get something for your dad. >> do you want to lend me some money? >> i'll lend you my american express card. >> perfect. this comes to us from denver, colorado, where doing the right thing was the only columbus option for one boy who made a sparkling discovery. the 12-year-old was walking along the street when he found a diamond and ruby ring. fighting off dreams of cashing in on his lucky find, he instead elected to turn in the $2,000 ring to police. the owner hasn't claimed it yet, but she will be able to thanks to the kid who cared enough to hand over what wasn't his. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

a festival in china draws in noise every year to see a boat excursion that dates back to the 11th century. the tomb sweeping festival draws in locals and tourists to see hundreds of elaborately decorated boats. made a national holiday in 2008, it's a chance for people to pay tribute to departed loved ones and to celebrate life at the beginning of spring. while fans at this next sport compared to rugby, you'll probably find it more outside the box. it's called the goat game. players ride on horseback and battle it out for goat carcasses

which they carry across the field to score a goal. the sport can get vicious and physically demanding as goats can weigh over 150 pounds. chances are you've never ridden a bus quite like this. the 49-foot-long vehicle powered by special battery packs holds 23 people and reaches speeds up to 150 miles per hour. looking more like a limo, the aerodynamic bus was developed in the netherlands with the help of the first dutch astronaut. the next step is sparking interest with buyers. bill, it looks a little bit like your ride into work. pretty impressive. >> no. that makes me want to go to prom all over again. >> you'd be the perfect date if you showed up with that, bill. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. three weeks into the nfl lockout, there will be a hearing today in minneapolis. nfl players are asking for an immediate end to the stoppage. the lockout was imposed by the nfl's owners after the two sides failed to reach a new collective

bargaining agreement. in washington, democratic lawmakers will be joined by 30 rock star alec baldwin as they unveil legislation at changing the way congressional elections are financed. and today marks the anniversary of the olympics. on this day in 1896, the first modern olympic games formally opened in athens, greece. 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. find out what a government shutdown means for you as president obama and congressional leaders struggle to compromise on the federal budget. and debbie reynolds is live in studio showing off some amazing hollywood treasurers that she's putting on the auction block. 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