the u.s. warns americans to get out. and massive security measures are put in place as england gets ready for the big day. >> i'm lynn berry and today we

begin with syria thea revolt. there are conflicting reports on the death toll. at least 11 people are died. soldiers are been going house to house rounding up suspected protesters. meanwhile, the u.s. state department as reminded americans to leave syria.

>> heavy rain pelted parts of the midwest from northeast texas all the way to kentucky where firefighters rescued a man confined to a wheelchair from a flooded home. we'll have more in weather in a a few minutes. first, yet another air traffic controller has been fired for falling asleep on the job. the federal aviation administration says a third controller, this one working in ceilings has been fired for dozing off on two separate days. since march, five cases of napping controllers have surfaced along with one who missed calls while watching a dvd. officials have rolled out new rules aimed at preventing such incidents.

there are just three days until the royal wedding. with the streets of london buzzing with activity, officials are beefing up security. tracie potts joins us from london with all the royal wedding details. tracie, good morning to you or good afternoon. >> good morning, lynn. good morning, everyone. we expect to get a security briefing later on this morning. we expect on the wedding day there will be 5,000 officers on patrol by foot, by horse and by boat in and around central london. plus, 80 private firms, as well. and cameras all over central london. there are more cameras here than any other city in the world, i'm told. they claim to have a special team assigned to assess fans of william and kate on that day. meanwhile, at westminster abbey, the crowds starting to grow. people trying to get their last look at the venue before it's closed down prior to the

wedding. we know of at least one camper who is there. the guest list has become part of a controversy because of some of the heads of state and royalty invited to the ceremony there that are from autocratic regimes. we're told there could be protests not at the site, but near the site on friday. speaking of friday, the royal couple, we're getting more details about some of the events surrounding the ceremony on friday. we understand there will be a bodyguard on the coach that prince william will travel to the ceremony in just in case of an attack. lynn. >> tracie potts there for us in london. thank you so much. just a reminder that nbc news live coverage of the royal wedding begins this friday morning starting at 4:00 a.m. eastern 1 am pacific time right

here on your local nbc station. now it's time to take a look at other stories making news early today in america. one iraq war veteran probably had better days in baghdad compared to his recent experience on a dallas highway. the 25-year-old was tossed from his motorcycle when an suv hit him from the rear. he lost his spleen, fractured his ribs and broke for vertebrae. but he's amazed to be alive and he received three traffic citations. a team of at least 75 firefighters battled flames after a raging fire erupted in jacksonville. heavy smoke blanketed the downtown area before the blaze was put out. happiness with the firefighter's success quickly turned somber when it was learned that a community center would have to be demolished as a result. and in chicago, a couple of thieves netted a score when they pulled off the ultimate hair heist. that's right, hair. celebrities like jessica simpson and beyonce have turned hair into a hot commodity.

suspects told $90,000 worth of hair extensions. so far, this bizarre crime has police stumped. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. >> i'll tell you, i don't know, but it is pricey. >> it is. >> it is. >> thank you. we'll work on getting you some curls, don't worry. >> well, we expect severe weather out break yesterday. it happened. we are going to go three days here. >> we did see 7 fatalities. we had other injuries that were widespread. we had 35 tornados. severe weather today. we are going to see in arkansas again. the same spots are going to get hit again today. going through the upcoming weekend. a huge flooding event. possibility of historic flooding

to near record levels. as far as the west coast goes, up level trough coming through. warm and dry in arizona and southern arizona. scatterred showers in seattle. that is a lo it has some kould air with it too. >> we'll talk about that um coming storm later. >> thank you. also coming up, rising costs lead to rising prices. silver rides up and down and why some online game junk ki ies ar goigo going nuts. >> lindsey lohan makes plans to

be seen in tinseltown. >> coming up, the spurs are pushed to the brink and the nfl lock out is oever for now.

good morning and welcome back to "early today." the law firm that the house of representatives hired to defend a statute prohibiting the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages has quit the case. the firm blames pressure from gay rights groups. house speaker john boehner had hired the outside counsel after the justice department announced that it would no longer defend the act in court. supporters of california same-sex marriage ban has filed a motion seeking to reinstate the law because the judge who overturned the ban recently disclosed that he is gay. they are questioning whether he can be impartial.

>> in the ukraine, memorial services were held to mark the chernobyl disaster. the official but much debated soviet death toll stands at 31 and there is still controversy over the disaster's long-term health effects. finally, apple's ipad may have only hit shelves last year, but video has surfaced showing the tablet being predicted way back in 1994. the footage revealed a prototype online newspaper predicted by night ritter, once a online newspaper publisher. the device appears arcably similar to current tablets. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,479 after dipping 26 points yesterday. the s&p shed two points but the nasdaq rose five.

taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei sank 113 points while in hong kong, the hang seng dropped 130. the fear of rising commodity costs have suddenly gripped wall street and will continue to throughout this busy week of earnings reports. kimberly clark, maker of kleenex and huggies fell due to the rising costs of pulp. the consumer giant announced a price hike yesterday due to the -- you guessed it, the rising cost of pulp, oil and gas. the day saw a silver sell-off after the metal neared record highs lifting the dollar and pushing oil lower. energy and material companies ranked among monday's worst performers. auto supplier johnson controls fell almost 3% after announcing third quarter results would be

hit by a drop in production following japan's massive earthquake. that tragedy sent toyota's production in japan plummeting a staggering 62% in march to the lowest levels since 1976 when toyota began keeping figures. and ford announced this week due to the parts shortage, it will idle plants in taiwan, china and south africa. canadian based barrett gold outbid a chinese company with $7.7 billion in cash to buy equinox minerals and its increasingly valuable global compromise. after the bell, fell hard after a disappointing second quarter outlook. finally, if online gamers seem particularly touchy lately, be kind to them. for a fifth day, sony's playstation network remains down after being hit by hackers last week. coming up, a judge halts

football's lockout, the thunder can't seal the deal and san antonio is wondering what hits them. plus, tampa bay forces a final and deciding game. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. historic flooding is heading for the ohio and mississippi river. we could use a dry day or two. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning if you are just waking up this is "early today." and in sports, the san antonio spurs finished the regular season 15 games ahead of their rivals. >> good morning. before the nba playoffs started, they made it clear they wanted to play the spurs and now we know why. game four at memphis, highlights of the spurs, gonobili going cost to coast, a dish to tony parker for the bucket. spurs up two at the break. the rest of the game was all grizzlies. mike and darrel arthur led a balanced attack. grizzlies won it, 104-86 and now just a win away from shocking everybody and winning the series. mavericks took a lead in their series and like the

grizzlies, they pulled away in the third. nowitzki with his 25 in the quarter. from downtown, and dallas won it, 93-82. game six is thursday. the nuggets finally got into the win column. ty lawson scored the career high 47. russell westbrook couldn't hit that long three. denver avoided the sweep with a 104-101 win. big win for nfl players yesterday. u.s. district court susan nelson ordered an immediate end to the lockout. owners are expected to appeal the ruling. this is the first of many steps to get the players back on the field for the season. lightning forced the win over the penguins. steve downing gave tampa the leaderly in the third. moments later, ryan malone, some insurance. a slapshot on the break away, unorthodox, but it worked. lightning won it, 4-2. game seven is tomorrow. finally, the sharks eliminated the kings in dramatic fashion.

3-3 in over time. the puck fell right in front of joe thorton. to score the game winner. san jose advanced with their third overtime win of the series, 4-3. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. johnny depp plans a special big screen appearance. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, if you thought these two were just too busy these days to recognize well wishers, stay tuned. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. here is an update on your forecast for today. we are going to watch a slight chance of showers in seattle. we are dry from medford to california. vegas looks nice today from san diego to the tucson area. strong storms rain and mountain snow from portland into seattle. if you are watching us on knbc, that is nbc4 in la california. see cubes and anarchy. at the museum of art. >> sounds wonderful. >> that is good. get them bill. thank you. >> here is an early look at this morning's look at headlines.

>> lindsay lohan is planning on hanging out in the morgue. that is right. free on $75,000 bail took time out to tape an interview for the tonight show. since her sentence of 150 days in jail, also includes 480 hours of community service she is planning on doing work in the county morgue. johnny depp will do a cameo in the tv version of 21 jump stre street. full disclosure. this morning we are going to give a shout out to isaac mis

misrahe. he says he wakes up early and turns on the show. >> he says we are like his family. >> ywe're like the annoying wif that nags on him. this comes to us from kshb in kansas city, missouri. one man's letter to prince william and his bride led to an unexpected royal response. that didn't stop him from pending a note and commending him on selecting such abu beautiful bride. the office thanked him for his wording meaning a lot. i'm lynn berry and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day on your nbc staz.

before the royal couple are married. some claim to have insights into their marriage. in bolivia, witch doctors offered the gods gifts of liquor and sweets and what they believe offers a prediction for prince william and kate middleton's marriage. they say the couple will have some disagreements, two children and be loved throughout the world. i could have told you that. history books came alive in estonia with the reenactment of a famous battle. the st. george's knight uprising took place in the 14th century. and was a revolt against german rulers. 1300 people gathered to reenact

the battle. they hope to educate others about the historic event and to illustrate medieval customs. in the baltics, one man raged a more modern battle, man versus machine. spectators filled the stands at a racetrack in latvia to watch one determined athlete try to outrun an automobile. in first place in the first race, man won over horsepower. by a long shot. round two was a much closer match. but in the end, the wagon's quick shift into reverse put it over the finish line. i don't know. i think an engine probably has the upper hand. >> i think the man racing the horse or the giraffe -- >> but a car that can go 100 miles per hour, not so much. >> no. not a surprise. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. the new terrorism advisory system goes into effect, replacing the five color coated warning system. alerts will note elevated or

imminent threat types. they will be offered on the web, facebook and twitter. in new york, time magazine will offer its 100 most influential people in the world. among those making the list, congresswoman gabrielle giffords, facebook's mark zuckerberg and teen heart throb justin bieber. and happy birthday to actress carol burnett who today turns 78. 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 where mother nature will strike next as deadly weather lashes the nation's mid section. and "today" takes you live to london where fears are setting in about the weather at england's royal wedding, now just three days away. 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.