this morning on "early today," debt debacle, a negative outlook on u.s. debt sends shock waves through washington and wall street. sunday matinee, another air traffic controller is suspended, this time for watching a movie on the job. and to serve and protect, dash cam video captures a heroic highway rescue in dallas. hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry.

today we begin with reality check. for the first time since 1860, standard & poors has issued a negative outlook on the u.s. government, citing increased concerns about washington's ability to manage the federal debt. the reaction on wall street was swift and dramatic with stocks tumbling and the price of gold rising to an all-time high. all this as the president prepares to hit the road to sell his new deficit reduction plan. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with all the details. good morning to you. >> good morning, everyone. while the president is suggesting reducing the deficit, he's asking congress at the same time to raise the debt limit. that's not sitting with some lawmakers here on capitol hill or with standard & poors. the credit agency s&p for the first time ever has downgraded its long-term outlook on america's debt from stable to negative saying that america could lose its aaa credit rating in two years if this gridlock in washington over spending and the debt continues.

as you mentioned, the president begins a series of town halls today in virginia. he's trying to sell his deficit reduction plan. the latest washington post/abc poll shows a 57% disapproval rating on the economy tied for his worst rating ever on that issue. by the way, the obamas aren't earning as much money as they used to. $1.8 million this past year compared to $5.5 million the year before, mainly because of a drop in the sale of his books. the president and mrs. obama paid $466,000 in taxes this year, more than he earns as president. lynn. >> tracie potts for us in washington, thanks. despite all the attention, believe it or not, the federal aviation administration is dealing with yet another embarrassing incident involving an air traffic controller. this time, a controller in ohio has been suspended for watching a movie on the job. even worse, his microphone was accidentally flipped on,

allowing the samuel l. jackson movie "cleaner" to be transmitted to planes in the area. that kept him from hearing all incoming calls from pilots. a manager has also been suspended. this on the same day the faa kicked off a nationwide tour of air traffic facilities to push new rules and acted after several controllers were recently caught sleeping on the job. arizona governor jan brewer has the measure requiring presidential candidates to prove they're american citizens before they're on presidential ballots. the arizona legislature passed the birther bill last week, but to the surprise of her republican critics, said the measure went too far. it would have tainted arizona's reputation after last year's immigration enforcement law. to libya now, the civilians are caught in the crossfire and

have been fleeing the city of misrata. boats filled with the wounded have been arriving in benghazi. the u.n. humanitarian chief has said the libyan government has promised access to misrata, the only city still partially held by the opposition in libya. however, no guarantees that the assault by gadhafi forces will cease. more than 267 people have been killed in misrata. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. a dallas deputy jumped into action after spotting a cascade of sparks shooting from a passing car. the 20-year veteran's dash cam rolled as he attempted to kick out driver's window before the car erupted into flames. the driver, unaware his car was on fire before the explosion, was able to unlock his door and escape without any serious injuries. it was a tragic start to the

school week in one pennsylvania school district. one of its drivers lost its life when she crashed into a building. the accident happened just after the driver had dropped off high school students and was on her way to pick up kindergartners. a six-time street sweeper made a mess inside a barbecue restaurant. vehicle barrelled through the walls coming to a stop 15 feet inside the eatery. the cause of the accident is still undetermined, but mechanical issues have been ruled out. and we end with winter's refusal to release its grip on wisconsin. at least 2 inches of snow blanketed the southeast part of the state. the wintry mix is expected to linger for the next couple of days, potentially dropping 6 to 10 inches more in some parts. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast.

it doesn't seem to let up. >> we are going to see hail, tornados, say snow sortorm. the severe storms will probably be the headlines. the snow is on the north side of this system. this is the same storm that kicked through the midwest. this storm moves to the middle of the country while the west coast we are bgoing to clear it out nicely. the thunderstorms are breaking out around st. louis. the problems will be in chicago and st. louis. the west coast a beautiful day. rain and snow showers will dry up. we are looking for a beautiful day. boise today 52 and sunny. chilly in portland at 56. it is not rainy.

we areco california will be warm. clouds will hang tough for the first half of the day in california. coming up, more fallout from yesterday's hard day on wall street and what happens in asia overnight. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, right at this moment, she has more of one particular accessory than most people will own in a lifetime. the heat rolls, the bruins make it a series and history made at the boston marathon, but why didn't it make the record books? 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 england, newly revealed government records show the world's largest oil companies discuss exploiting iraq's oil reserve with ministers months before the country took a leading roll in toppling saddam hussein's government in 2003. that's according to a report in the newspaper "the independent" shows the secret papers are at odds with oil companies like bp and shell. a california republican official is under pressure to resign this morning after sending out an e-mail picturing president obama's face on the body of a chimpanzee. in a statement yesterday, orange county commit member marilyn davenport calls her behavior unwise, but says she sees no reason to step down.

a woman who falsely accused three duke athletes with raping her in 2006 has been charged with murder of her boyfriend. police say she stabbed the victim who died after nearly two weeks in a hospital. for a second year in a row, a danish eatery tops the list of the world's 50 best restaurants. they did it by serving nordic cuisine such as moss, cedar chips and smoked bone meal. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,201 after sinking 140 points yesterday. the s&p shed 40 points. the nasdaq dropped 29. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei fell 115 points while in hong kong, the hang seng tumbled 309.

the warning about the nation's credit rating that we told you about at the top of the show sent stocks on their steepest slide in a month yesterday. investors started the day worried about ongoing debt problems in greece before the s&p's newly negative outlook on u.s. debt fueled fresh fears about the economy. gold traded at a record high near $1,500 an ounce. overnight, the downward trend continued as the so-called safer betts continued. oil tumbled after opec said high prices will likely put a major strain on economies. after the bell, texas instruments fell short of estimates. earlier, city group closed flat after barely beating expectations. apple is suing rival samsung claiming its galaxy smartphones and tablet, quote, copy the ipad and iphones. at&t has three new lobbying

contracts to stop at&t's t-mobile takeover. a lawsuit demanding taco bell stop calling its beef meat has been dropped. taco bell says no money changed hands and it's not changing its marketing or its recipe. keep an eye on goldman sachs. the bank weighs in with earnings before the bell. and they just won't take no for an answer. despite an appeal throw out next week, the winkelback twins now want a special panel of judges to review their claim that they didn't get a fair deal while settle, mark zuckerberg. >> the bruins battle away from bean town and controversy in the world's oldest race. plus, lebron leads the team to a bout against philly.

a severe weather outbreak is in the forecast. your 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 in the nba playoffs, the high powered heat took a demanding two-game lead over a philadelphia 76ers team that hasn't been able to beat miami all season. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. after a weekend of close finishes and upsets, the miami heat made sure there was no doubt about last night's game against the 6ers. to south beach, dwyane wade who battled migraines giving the 6ers headaches all night, living up to his nickname the flash. joel anthony sparks the ply. heat win going away 94-73. bulls and pacers, derek rose score 36. the ashton kutcher look alike knocks down the three. chicago up five in the time

minute. bulls win, 96-90. they lead the series, 2-0. the bruins finally showed up for the nhl playoffs. they beat the canadiens in the game three. in for the goal, bruins win, 4-2. penguins and lightning, check out the big hit behind the net. that leads to an outnumbered attack for the pens and that they make tampa pay giving pittsburgh a 1-0 lead. let's take another look at the hit. then lovejoy sacrifices his body to the make a play. penguins win, 3-2. they lead the series, 2-1. finally, it's the oldest and most prestigious marathon in the world and now it may be considered too easy. the boston marathon is finished in a staggering 2 hours, 52 minutes and 3 seconds. international body likely won't recognize it. they say a strong hail wind and a downhill course has made the once toughest race in the world easy for the runners. i don't care what they say. it's impressive no matter what

the course is like. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. >> i agree with you, mario. coming up, charlie sheen is head to court and abc loses an advertiser over canceling it's soap operas. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. believe it or not, there's a fight going on to save these jungle jaw crushers from extinction. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. forecast on the west coast cooler in the morning breaks of sunshine later in the day. salt lake city that storm system is moving out during the day. wednesday forecast, chance of showers increasing again. areas like medford and san francisco as we get ready for the next storm. watching us on kcra3. photos california, indians making a difference at the california museum. that is your event of the day. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in t this entertainment. reportedly, charlie sheen will be spending part of his day today in a los angeles courtroom. tmz reports with his estranged

wife, brook mueller back in rehab, sheen believes so strongly that he should have physical and legal custody of their twin boys that he's going to go to court today to make had i his own personal appeal to the judge. in addition, it's reported that sheen will ask the judge to allow him to take the kids on the tour for his last two weeks of his speaking tour. >> angry fans of abc cancelled soaps have a new alley. hoover is a new ally for soap opera fans. it announced it is pulling all of its advertising from the network starting this friday and starting an e-mail campaign to bring the shows back from the dead. 25-year-old mom nicole richie has admitted to owning more than 200 pairs of sunglasses. richie defends her arsenal by claiming that she needs them to do their job as a clothing designer. i'm guying to use this excuse when my husband gives me a hard

time for having too many clothes. >> i need like four pair of shoes. >> what is your excuse? >> and this comes to us from jacksonville, florida, where in nearby st. augustine, an unplanned pregnancy has given hope to a species on the brink of extinction. the discovery of 41 eggs has caretakers of two rare crocodiles thrilled. with only 200 of these crocs left in the world, nature took its course. in two months, the eggs are hatched and they're expected to be hatched and it's going to give hope to a crocodile comeback. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc staz.

students in china have an unlikely routine. they start their day by dancing to michael jackson's "dangerous". with the help from a teacher, in only a few weeks, the students have nearly mastered the dance moves. they say it's a great way to shake themselves awake and get the day started. maybe we should try that here. from the young to the young at heart, a group of retirees are proving age is just a number. the women began rehearsing years ago and now perform their interpretation of swan lake in local senior centers across the czech republic. fame came unexpectedly after

appearing on television. now their performances are sellouts. and it looks like everyone has a case of dancing fever. even a romanian politician who is getting some bad reviews for this performance on a local television program. critics are questioning whether the michael jackson inspired moves are appropriate for his position, but his overnight popularity can't be denies. his blog soared to the seventh most reviewed in two weeks. bill, we have figures it out. all we need to do is break out and start dancing. >> i can do the worst macarania in the world, but i will do it with conviction. >> let's see it. you can't get any better than that, wow. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. in oklahoma city, remembrance ceremonies are being held to mark the 16th anniversary of the

attack on the alfred p. morrow building. on this day in 1995, a bomb exploded, killing 168 people. in florida, nasa managers will hold a news conference to discuss the shuttle "endeavour's" liftoff scheduled for april 29th. and in california, a judge will decide whether former "two and a half men" star charlie sheen's $100 million lawsuit against warner brothers and executive producer chuck lorre will be heard in public or private. as we mentioned earlier, sheen himself will attend a child custody hearing. 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. the gop front-runner talks about whether he's pressing the president too much on his citizenship and why he won't reveal his net worth. they sing, they dance and they're full of glee. the all-male group from the hit show "glee" perform live. 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. have a good one.