hope to see you tomorrow! bye-bye! [ cheers and applause ] ♪ this morning on "early today," explosive scare. a pipe bomb and propane tanks are discovered in a colorado mall. friendlier skies? the government unveils new rules on pricing and protection for airline passengers. and left hanging, a chinese thief has to be rescued after getting stuck outside a ventilation shaft. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with an eerie reminder. on the anniversary of the

shooting massacre of columbine high school, the same community shaken by a disturbing security scare and an all-too-familiar reminder of the tragedy that happened 12 years ago. about a mile from columbine, firefighters found a pipe bomb and two propane tanks after a fire broke out at the mall. fortunately, there was no explosion and no one was hurt. investigators are exploring the connection between the incident and the anniversary of that massacre in which two students gunned down 13 people before taking their own lives. there is a person of interest in yesterday's incident. he was spotted on surveillance video. law enforcement is now asking for the public's assistance in identifying the man. air travelers frustrated with flight fees, delays and other complaints will soon have more options when things do go wrong. yesterday, the government outlined new passenger protections covering everything from lost luggage to overbooked

flights. nbc's michelle franzen reports. >> reporter: in a day and age when flying has become anything but friendly, passengers just got a leg up from new federal protections that expand upon the so-called passenger bill of rights already in place. >> this is the most important and biggest change in passenger rights since deregulation. >> reporter: at the top of the list, airlines will have to refund baggage fees when luggage is lost. also gone, nickel and diming passengers with those hidden costs beyond the ticket price. airlines will have to disclose those fees on their website. >> all of those fees will be listed, whether it's a baggage fee, the taxes you might pay in the particular area you're in, a fee for a blanket, a fee for a pillow, a fee for food. all of those will be listed.

>> reporter: airlines will pay more if a passenger is bumped from a flight. delays less than two hours less than $650. and up to $1,300 for delays more than two hours. the new rules expand tarmac delay penalties. already a three-hour limit on domestic flights. now it includes international flights for passengers that sit on the tarmac for four hours. the new rules are expected to go into effect late august. michelle franzen, nbc news, new york. sad news out of libya where two award winning photo journalists were killed in a rebel held city where violence has been raging for weeks. in misrata, photography hetherington was killed. he was best known for co-directing an oscar nominated film. american chris hondros was also killed as their group came under fire. meanwhile, the obama administration is preparing to provide as much as $25 million

to aid in the rebels fight against forces loyal to moammar gadhafi. it is intended for use of nonviolent equipment and supplies. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. a deadly shoot-out inside a florida internet cafe erupted on camera. two masked men entered with guns drawn, but quickly retreated after exchanging gunfire with a security guard. one of the suspects later died from a gunshot wound he suffered in that gun fight. police have not made any arrests. a delaware mother is now in custody after turning herself into police for a shocking crime all caught on surveillance tape. the woman allegedly instructed her son to grab a wallet, which she later stashed in her purse before they exited. the boy is now in the custody of a grand parent. the forces of nature were on display in indiana.

at least seven rail cars were left mangled, toppled over in the wake of a powerful storm system. there is mystery behind the incredible sight. officials are still unsure if the rail cars were blown over by high winds or a tornado. fortunately, no injury were reported. and the one-time location of an infamous mob hangout in new york city has taken on a much more relaxed and serene look. a storefront once run by the boss of the genevieve crime family has been transformed into an organic tea shop. nearby businesses are saying quietly that the new shop is of a better fit for the neighborhood. i'd say so. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins. >> i wouldn't go shoplifting in that store just in case. >> i wouldn't go shoplifting anywhere, but that's fine. >> that's a good point, lynn. on the west coast, something called the june gloom. it's when the marine layer,

clouds in the morning, that's been the case lately. this tishe weather pattern that's very dreary out there. the marine layer has been hanging tough in areas from los angeles southward down the coast to san diego. even our friends up to the north in san francisco are stuck in this dreary pattern too. one weak storm after another rotates through and keeps the onshore flow heading right into california. there are some rain showers out there at the higher elevations. hasn't been a lot of rain showers around san francisco or so, but the blocks are blocked in there pretty good and will be around with us and keep temperatures on the cooler side too. talk about cool, seattle is 39 this morning. later on today we'll see a chance of a snow shower in the high elevations. seattle is fine, maybe sprinkles of rain for you. portland rain showers too. san francisco they're at 61. maybe you'll get sun late in the day. same for l.a. but mostly cloudy

love to say there's great weather in store for southern california, but it doesn't appear that way. >> i didn't think so. bill, thank you. well, apple pops, gold soars and what's the number one most stressful job? your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus lots of people debate whether she's copied madonna's playbook, but lady gaga's reaction to the question has gotten her in some hot water. also, spurs and lakers get back on track. a pair of double overtime games in the nhl playoffs and a dark day for the dodgers. 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 federal aviation administration is taking new steps to fix problems in the nation's air traffic control system. yesterday, two air traffic controllers were fired for sleeping on the job. also in the wake of this week's scare with michelle obama's plane, controllers will no longer handle planes carrying the first lady or the vice president. supervisors will take on that job. yesterday on the first anniversary of the gulf oil disaster, bp launched legal action. it's suing the maker of the blowout preventer that failed. bp filed papers against rig owner transocean for at least $40 billion in damages, accusing transocean of causing the deadly blowout. both companies have filed counterclaims. talk about a creepy story out of china. researchers say they've discovered the biggest

fossilized spider ever documented. the credit -- critter's body measures only around one inch and it's 165 million years old. this man tried to play the part of spider-man, but he failed. a suspected burglar got stuck in a ventilation opening in china. firefighters came to his rescue and then police quickly took him away. now here is an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,453 after climbing 186 points yesterday. the s&p added 17 points. the nasdaq jumped 57. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei gained 78 points, while in hong kong, the hang seng rose 242. apple's status as the envy of the corporate world appears to be intact. after the bell, apple said its

revenue jumped 83% over last year thanks to sales of iphones. in fact, the only hole in apple's better than expected results, it couldn't make enough of the ipad 2 to keep up with demand. elsewhere after the bell, iphone chipmaker qualcomm rode the smartphone success to a stellar quarter, easily beating the street's target. american express said its profit rose 33% as customers spent more and paid their bills on time. on the street yesterday, earnings from tech titan's intel, yahoo! and united technologies drove stocks higher. meanwhile, standard & poor's newly negative outlook on u.s. debt continued to weigh down the dollar. gold hit another all-time high as investors sought out safe bets. crude prices shot up nearly 3% after a sharp drop in inventories. wynn resorts made more money off gamblers in vegas.

pushing its revenue up 39%. at&t shares slipped in response to news it signed up fewer subscribers after losing its exclusive contract for the iphone. wells fargo ended lower after reporting a sharp drop in new mortgages. shares of tivo soared 30% after a federal appeals court upheld a ruling that dish network infringed on its dvr patent back in 2006. finally, we've all got job stress, but according to a new survey, commercial airline pilots have the most stressful job. hearing specialists appear to have the least amount of work-related stress. also included in the top five, newscasters, although my producers would say they have it worse and i would agree. coming up, hockey's playoffs go sudden death. a sudden takeover of the l.a. dodgers. and the top seeds return to form in the nba playoffs, including argentina's finest, returning to help right the spurs.

your early morning sports headlines is straight ahead. and after a break, yesterday's severe weather is returning to the heartland over the next two afternoons. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, for fans, april is a time like no other.

with simultaneous playoff campaigns raging in two professional sports. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. playoff games galore in the nba and nhl. let's get right to it. we begin in san antonio and look who's back. manu ginobili returning after missing game one and he makes an instant impact. spurs up three. next discussion, it's manu again. the spurs are a completely different team. they tie the series with a 93-87 win. lakers and hornets. andrew bynum picks up the slack. 17 points and 10 rebounds for bynum. lakers even up the series with a 87-78 win. russell westbrook with a coast-to-coast basket that will make you dizzy. the spin is so nice, he did it twice. the all-star tandem of westbrook and kevin durant combined for 72

points. thunder wins 106-89 and lead the series two games to nothing. major league baseball has had enough of mccourt. the league has officially taken over the los angeles dodgers. mlb will appoint a representative to oversee all aspects of business and daily operations. how about nhl hockey. rangers and capitals in double overtime and it nends a mistake by the blue shirts. rangers blow a three-goal lead and lose 4-3 in double o.t. penguins down lightning needing two extra periods. pittsburgh acquired james neal at the trading deadline for offense and he delivers. pens win 3-2 in double o.t. finally, break out the brooms. the red wings have swept the coyotes. a harmless shot from the corner and it gets through. that is the game winner, detroit has the 6-3 win. that's your early look at sports on "early today."

i'm mario solis. lindsay lohan talks her way back into a job. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, they'll never forget this along the gulf coast. we'll take you to another coastal community where they plan to be ready if it ever happens to them. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. we have a little bit of rain in the forecast in the intermountain west, just some showers for seattle and portland, not a lot of rain today. and cloudy, cool conditions, kind of dreary and foggy in the morning with drizzle around l.a., maybe a break or two of sunshine later in the day. we're nice in arizona and new mexico. that's about it. now a sneak peek into friday, not a lot changes. it looks like a dry forecast but temperatures still struggling in coastal areas with the marine layer. if you're watching from las vegas, learn about ancient egypt with a replica of king tut's tomb at treasures of egypt at the las vegas natural history museum. that's your pacific event of the day. >> good one, thank you, bill. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. lindsay lohan started wednesday out of an upcoming film on mob boss john gotti. but she ended wednesday back in, albeit in a smaller role. dealing with the demands of

lohan's management team drove the film's producer to drop her from the role of victoria gotti telling tmz, quote, i will only ride a merry-go-round with my kids. later, after speaking directly with lohan, he took her back. lady gaga reacted to questions in a recent interview about her copying madonna by saying, quote, that's retarded. speaking of madonna, her ex was invited to the royal wedding, but not with a companion. now the london tabloids are guessing who buckingham palace didn't want him bringing, his pregnant girlfriend or madonna. what, he has a pregnant girlfriend? >> i didn't know that. now i need more details. >> we can find plenty of stuff. yeah, i'm a little surprised to hear that. a little more surprised to hear guy ritchie was invited to the royal wedding.

tell me, bill, what's going on? you have no idea. >> one bad movie, disinvited. this comes from wcb 2. news 2 in charleston, south carolina, where one group of volunteers shared a very unique observance of the first anniversary of the gulf oil disaster. a small section of beach was turned into one big mock oil slick to ask the question what if the bp oil spill had happened here? hazmat suits, black tarps, even chocolate covered stuffed animals were used to simulate the disaster. and while this damage took just an hour to clean up, it did send a very powerful message to the folks there. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

this is not the kind of easter egg you would want to find in your basket. ahead of the easter holiday, london zoo has treated their mire cats to decorated eggs filled with worms. not to be forgotten were the these little guys who dug and searched for raisins hidden inside a pinata. and as you can see, they enjoyed them as much as we will all of those chocolate bunnies. an easter tree? a man in germany with the help of his family has been decorating an apple tree with handcrafted easter eggs for 40 years. the number of eggs has grown along with the tree from 18 eggs to 9,800 that now hang on the branches this year. he hopes to break his own record

next easter with 10,000 eggs. the philadelphia phillies have a new pitcher with great mechanics. kind of. a robot named philly-bot has bells and whistles but not a great arm. it grounded the ball before making it over the plate. still, the phillies may have a new good luck charm. they beat the brewers, 4-3. you know, bill, those fillies fans are intense. i spent a lot of time down in philadelphia and they are business. so can you guess what happened when that all went down? >> they probably booed, didn't they? >> they booed. >> they would boo rocky. >> come on, if he didn't win the game? yes, they would. it's time for an early look at the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. in detroit, a prosecutor wants to block a florida christian pastor from holding a rally at a michigan mosque

tomorrow. that pastor is terry jones, the same preacher who drew worldwide attention when his congregation burned the koran inciting riots in afghanistan. former illinois governor rod blagojevich is expected to make his first appearance at his retrial. he's facing 20 charges that include allegations he sought to sell or trade an appointment to president obama's senate seat. england has another reason to celebrate aside from next week's royal wedding. today queen elizabeth turns 85. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments and those stories and others on msnbc and tonight watch brian williams with nbc "nightly news." finally here's a look at what's coming up on the "today" show. find out the latest details about the pipe bomb found just miles from columbine high on the anniversary of the school's tragic shootings. and get a rare look at some of princess diana's dresses before they hit the auction block. and 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.