night, the roots, over there! stay-tuned for "carson daly." thanks for watching. have a great night. hope to see you tomorrow. bye-bye! [ cheers and applause ] ♪ this morning on "early today," downsizing the deficit. how president obama plans to get the nation out of ballooning debt. game over. baseball's all-time home run leader barry bonds is now a convicted felon. and bookshelf bonanza, one of the oldest printed books in and bookshelf bonanza, one of the oldest printed books in the world turns up in utah. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello. good thursday morning to you. welcome to our viewers across

the nation including the pacific time zone. veronica dela cruz. today we begin with digging out of the deficit. president obama laid out his blueprint yesterday for how to get out of the nation's debt. not surprisingly, the republicans say the plan doesn't work for them. nbc's steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: under fire from critics who claim he's failed to lead, president obama laid out his new plan to blood up our red ink. >> we have to live within our means. we have to reduce our deficit and we have to get back on a path that will allow us to pay down our debt. >> reporter: the obama goal is to wipe out $4 trillion of deficit in 12 years, debt declining as a percentage of the economy in 2015. with a fail-safe clause to force spending cuts if that target is not hit. and for every $3 in spending cuts, $1 in tax hikes. focused on the top brackets, plus mortgage and charitable deductions. >> we cannot afford $1 trillion worth of tax cuts for every millionaire and billionaire in

our society. we can't afford it. and i refuse to renew them again. >> reporter: republicans said no way. >> raising taxes is not what we need right now two days before tax day, especially while we're trying to get job creators back into the game here. >> reporter: the gop deficit plan would turn medicaid and medicare over to the state. the president said no way. >> i will not allow medicare to become a voucher program that leaves seniors at the mercy of the insurance industry. >> reporter: so what would the president cut by 2023? defense spending, $400 billion, rethinking the u.s. role overseas, energy, infrastructure spending, education spending, obama pet projects, cut $770 billion. health care, $480 billion saved by obama health care reform. medicare and medicare, $300 billion saved over ten years, no details. and for now, no change to social security. spending cuts and tax hikes, the

president's vision of shared sacrifice. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. it is a messy end to a messy case that has cast a shadow over former giants slugger barry bonds for over three years. as nbc stephanie stanton reports, a federal jury found bonds guilty of obstructing justice, but couldn't reach a unanimous decision on whether he lied about taking steroids. >> reporter: strike one for barry bonds who was convicted on one count of obstruction of justice. after the verdict, an upbeat bonds and his attorney said the game is far from over and they plan to fight the conviction. >> i mean, it was certainly a seriously contested trial and here we are and counts one, two and three, there is no verdict. >> reporter: the jury deadlocked on the remaining three counts of perjury that bonds intentionally lied to the grand jury about using performance enhancing drugs during the 2003 balco steroid

investigation. the judge declared a mistrial on those counts. jurors explained their decision to convict the home run king. >> not that he was lying or it was false declaration, but he was very evasive. we saw that throughout his grand jury transcript. >> reporter: that was all the jury needed to convict. >> obstruction of justice requires a lesser intent than perjury. it also can be convicted just on the attempt to mislead. >> reporter: the government says it was gratified by the legal guilty verdict, but experts say this game could go into extra innings for barry bonds. >> it's not a win for barry bonds, but he hasn't lost the ball game yet. >> reporter: stephanie stanton, nbc news. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. in california, a 93-year-old was saved after driving his car into a canal. the man, with cold water rushing in and nearly overcome by hypothermia uses his car roof to

partially escape until a rescue copper arrived. he is expected to survive. a new jersey thief may be kicking himself after getting nailed on camera breaking into a home, especially since it's the home of a local police chief. the suspect fled with jewelry and cash, but with visual evidence, his days of freedom are likely numbered. in an odd twist, before the burglary, the chief organized a meeting on the importance of security video cameras. he just never expected to give a firsthand account, i'm sure. finally, in new york city, it turns out the big apple's tallest building is just one big lightning rod. the empire state building was struck by lightning three times during a thunderstorm tuesday night. there is no word on any damage to the famous building. look at that picture. now for a look at your national and regional weather here's nbc meteorologist bill kirns with a weather channel forecast. did you see the video?

>> i saw the video. always wanted to see it live. it happens about 100 times a year. >> no. too dangerous. >> from a safe distance it would be fine. >> not from the roof. >> people grab their cameras when thunderstorms go through new york because it it's a good chance it will get hit. talk about the west coast, active weather pattern continues. the big storm that went through with the cold air is heading through the rockies going to emerge in the middle of the country with a severe weather outbreak, possible tornadoes and a snowstorm in the northern plains. if you think you're complaining about your weather in the northwest, at least it's not going to be snowing. now what we're dealing with this morning is a cold upper level low heading up into canada. that's dragging more cold air in. along with it a lot of instability. showers. so the wet weather is primarily from portland northward, dry in nevada, utah, fine in arizona too. here's a look at that radar. the green on here is the rain. yes, it's a high elevations there is snow out there in the olympics and through the high peaks of the cascades but notice the hit and miss showers this morning and that forecast is going to continue during the day

today. even into tomorrow, there's another chance of another burst of rain coming on through, especially in oregon. temperatures behind that storm system going through the rockies, it is chilly, 35 in boise when you wake up, 40s and low 40s from seattle to medford. you need to put the winter clothes on. we would love to put them away sooner or later. today's highs, lucky to hit 50 degrees from portland northward into seattle. spokane very chilly today. in l.a., that's where the nice weather is. los angeles to phoenix, enjoy what should be a nice day. that's a look at your thursday ukiah, even a little cool for you. bakersfield and fresno a little chilly this morning. that friday forecast coming up. >> bill, so if april showers bring may flowers, april snow

brings? >> a lot of angry people. >> absolutely. finally got it right. you get the most muffins in the break room. that is your prize. goldman sachs gets thankds again, no ka-chick for the bling. your business headlines straight ahead. see if you agree with this year's choice by "people" magazine of the world's most beautiful woman. coming up, the stanley cup playoffs begin, another walk-off in detroit and what did kobe bryant say that got him fined $100,000? 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. u.s. officials are claiming a big victory against internet crime after shutting down a ring of computer thieves who stole hundreds of millions of dollars by infecting millions of pcs with

malicious software. the suspects used the stolen data to carry out fraudulent wire transfers from victims' bank accounts. although some may be dreading monday's tax filing deadline, a new associated press poll finds that a majority of americans, 54%, actually thinks the taxes they pay are fare. however, just 29% say taxes should be raised to cut the nation's deficit. the parents of a michigan toddler who was accidentally served alcohol at an applebee's last week are now suing the restaurant chain. the 15-month-old was apparently given a margarita mix containing alcohol from a sippy cup that was mislabeled as juice. the lawsuit says the toddler felt ill for days but is expected to be fine. and an ordinary appraisal event in utah has turned up a find of a lifetime. a resident there brought in a copy of the nurenberg chronicle,

one of the world's oldest printed books worth over $100,000. it was printed just one year after columbus discovered north america. look at that. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,270 after inching up seven points yesterday. the s&p was up a fraction. the nasdaq gained 16. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei added 12, but in hong kong, the hang seng lost 121. less than a year after goldman sachs settled civil fraud charges over its role in the financial crisis, they're in the hot seat again. a scathing u.s. senate report accuses goldman of misleading clients and markets. leading up to and during the financial crisis. during a briefing in washington yesterday, michigan dem carl levin questioned the accuracy of related testimony goldman gave to congress last year. a goldman spokesman says the

firm is taking the accusations, quote, seriously. yesterday, stocks edge higher or news that manufacturing and corporate hiring increased nationwide this spring. another sign of growing confidence in the economy, more people are quitting their jobs because more companies are hiring. according to the department of labor, job postings in february hit a two-year high. jp morgan chase led financial stocks lower as the possibility of more penalties for nation's foreclosure crisis cast a shadow on its earnings. network equipment maker river bed technology lifted the nasdaq with a rosy outlook. gram paging for $1.2 billion boosted both companies. sales of apple ipads rose. keep an eye on google. the web giant reports earnings after the bell. finally, a sign of the times, a rare 10 karat pink diamond ring went unsold at christie's this week. the cushion cut stunner was

expected to fetch $15 million. wow. it is beautiful. kobe sticks his foot in it, a walk-off winner, and hockey playoffs begin. you know what that means in detroit. octopus on ice, yes. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. severe weather outbreak is likely today along with a snowstorm. your thursday forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, last night, the annual pursuit of north america's most famous sports trophy, lord stanley's cup began. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. and some regard this as the toughest trophy to win in all of sports. last night, the quest for the stanley cup began with the nhl playoffs. we'll start in the east, capitals and rangers with the first overtime game of the postseason. it was ended with a blast to the slot. no doubt about that. caps won in dramatic fashion, 2-1. penguins are without their star, sydney crosby who has been sidelined for months with a concussion. they did all right without him scored two goals within 18 seconds in the third and beat the lightning 3-0. it's playoff time in detroit

when the ok toepy hit the ice, the eight legs representing the eight victories it took to win the cup. now with 16 wins and red wings got number one against the coyotes. after trailing 1-0 detroit scored four straight and won 4-2. canucks scored a pair of goals in the first and held on to shut out the blackhawks 2-0. moment of frustration caught on camera has caught the ire of gay and lesbian groups and caused kobe bryant $100,000. it happened tuesday night against the spurs. he was assessed a technical by official benny adams, went to the bench, called out the referee's name and called out a homophobic slur. the nba fined kobe bryant and the commissioner called the remarks inexcusable. bryant said his comments should not be taken literally and takes full responsibility for his actions. baseball, the rangers lost their second game in a row this season. a solo shot to left. check out the celebration at the plate. a 360 leap into the crowd of teammates.

the way the pistons played this year they could have used a high fly like that. tigers won it, 3-2. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. sylvester stallone comes out swinging over rocky memorabilia. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, if you're one of those home buyers who has to have something different, stick around, have we got a house for you. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. another umbrella day with rain moving through seattle, all the way through olympia. portland too. medford, maybe a stray shower. most of it to your north. southern california looks great today. along with arizona. no problems there. another shot of rain comes in on friday with a different story system here, especially into oregon from portland to medford. another great day from san diego to l.a. if you're watching us on kgw news channel 8 in portland, oregon, get crafty, view artwork from the 1960s to 1980s to spotlight key moments in craft history at air messages museum of contemporary craft your pacific event of the day. >> you have no choice but to get crafty it's going to be raining all day. >> good hobby. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. if "people" magazine's goal is to get people talking over it is its list issues, this one

sure worked. it is kicking off serious debate. jennifer lopez has been named the most beautiful woman in the world in the magazine's annual most beautiful issue which is out tomorrow. in a matter of months, the 41-year-old mother of 3-year-old twins has gone from almost forgotten to red hot thanks largely to her new role as a judge on "american idol." elsewhere, after a year that saw her husband, michael douglas, diagnosed with and treated for cancer, catherine zeta-jones sought her own mental health treatment. prior to starting two new films zeta-jones went for a short stay for bipolar disorder treatment. she's out now and is doing fine. finally, memorabilia buyers beware, sylvester stallone and his lawyer intervene in an upcoming auction. offered by the boxing gloves worn by him in the first rocky movie insisting the gloves were not authentic. j. lo is having a good year. >> doing the "american idol"

thing turned out to be a good decision. >> i've been talking about this on twitter whether or not it should have gone to her. it is subjective. natalie portman could have been another good option. >> maybe next year natalie. they are all beautiful. >> beauty in the eye of the beholder. absolutely. wr cnbc 4 in washington, d.c., where a nearby mcclain, virginia, some real estate has hit the market garnltsed to make any buyer feel presidential. a live-in replica of the white house is up for sale with a price tag of $4.65 million, the scaled down version comes with its own oval office, lincoln bedroom, and bit of history, the house was used in the movie "independence day" making it an ideal home for both movie and history buffs. i'm veronica de la cruz, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

dinosaur museum exhibits are always popular, but the american museum of natural history's is altogether different. it focuses on a life sized 60 foot model of one of the world's largest dinosaurs. one side uses skin texture, but the other shows its working organs. the dinosaur lived 200 million years ago in china. four opera singers left the stage yesterday singing instead on a jerusalem bridge to promote an upcoming festival. they stood on top of the outdoor landmark performing classical selections by gerwin,

mozart. as traffic passed by underneath them. orthodox jews who normally consider a woman's voice blasphemous were among the interested spectators. thailand celebrated its new year in a world record. the normally falls on some of the nation's hottest days and includes a traditional water festival which encourages water fights. this year they attempted to break the record for largest water pistol shoot-outs. thailand broke spain's old record and bill karins, saying this to you, when we finally get some good weather here in new york i am going to challenge you. >> to a water gun fight. >> absolutely. >> i will get you one of those tiny guns and a big super soaker. >> a big super soaker, that's exactly what i thought you would say. time for a look at some of the stories we'll follow on nbc. a house panel will hold a hearing to discuss

accountability at the arlington national cemetery. the cemetery has been engulfed in the scandal after the revelation of unmarked and mismarked graves. talks expected to resume in the nfl lockout. a judge has ordered them to meet a mediator over a new collective bargaining agreement. today marks the anniversary of the titanic disaster. on this day in 1912 the luxurious ocean liner was on its maiden voyage when it crashed into an iceberg and sank, claiming 1500 lives. all day long stay on top of the latest developments and those 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. as the debt clock ticks into the trillions, president obama and the gop trade sharp talk over how to cut the deficit. and 30 rock star tracy morgan is live on the plaza to talk about getting animated in his new movie. now keep it on this channel for continuing local news,

weather, sports and much more. i'm veronica de la cruz, thank you for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station. have a terrific thursday.