[ cheers and applause ] stay-tuned for "carson daly." thanks for watching. have a good night. hope to see you tomorrow. bye-bye. [ cheers and applause ] ♪ this morning on "early today," bracing. maria shriver opens up in the wake of revelations on her husband's infidelity. slam, an activist hurled glitter at presidential candidate newt gingerich and his wife at a book signing event. and up in smoke, a reporter's camera is rolling as an earthquake-damaged building collapses in spain. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry.

today we begin with schwarzenegger shocker. this morning, one of the most powerful families in american politics is coping with the stunning confession that former california governor arnold schwarzenegger fathered a child with a former household employee. for the latest reaction, we go to nbc's stephanie stanton. >> reporter: the los angeles times broke the story early tuesday morning, stunning front page news that the former governor of california, arnold schwarzenegger fathered a child more than a decade ago with a long time household staffer. schwarzenegger, seen here leaving his office issued a statement to the times saying, quote, after leaving the governor's office, i told my wife about this event which occurred over a decade ago. i understand and deserve the feelings of anger and disappointment among my friends and family. the news comes exactly one week after the schwarzenegger and maria shriver announced a separation.

>> i just kept thinking, there has to be another shoe to drop. >> reporter: shriver has not spoken publicly about the split but today issued this statement -- this is a painful and heartbreaking time. as a mother, my concern is for the children. i ask for compassion, respect and privacy as my children and i try to rebuild our lives and heal. and her high profile family is offering support. >> i talked to maria. she's terrific. love her to death. you know, it's all family. everybody cares about family and their ability to make it for their kids. i think that's a good thing. while the "l.a. times" does not identify the woman or the child, the paper said she retired on good terms in january after working for the couple for 20 years. a source tells the time that the governor has provided support for the child since birth. stephanie stanton, nbc news, los angeles. elsewhere, the head of the international monetary fund is now under intense pressure to

resign as he faces sexual assault charges. dominique strauss-kahn is, quote, obviously not in a position to run the imf it was strauss-kahn is jailed at new york's riker island where he has been put on suicide watch. he's accused of trying to rape a hotel maid. strauss-kahn's lawyer says he's innocent. we're learning new details about the accuser. she's a widow from the west african nation of guinea, has been a housemaid for years and has been described by her lawyer as hard working. he says her world has been turned upside town and she feels alone. on capitol hill last night, senate lawmakers watched a bill aimed at lowering prices at the pump by doing away in billions of dollars of tax breaks for the nation's five largest oil companies. three democrats joined all by two senate republicans to vote against bringing the repeal up for debate in a test vote that

came up eight yeas shy of a total 60 needed to advance. supporters of the tax break say they encourage domestic drilling while opponents believe oil companies would simply charge consumers more for gas. meanwhile, there are small but significant steps towards normalcy for long suffering residents of the flooded mississippi region. after shutting down a 15-mile stretch of the swollen river in natchez, mississippi, yesterday, the coast guard is now allowing vessels to pass through slowly, one at a time. traffic is being limited in an effort to minimize strain on the river's already stressed levees. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. a gay rights activist in minnesota was looking for more than a signature at a book signing event for presidential candidate newt gingerich and his wife.

the man shouted stop the hate before pouring a box of glitter on the couple. he was quickly wrestled away by security but later said the act was in response to gingerich's anti-gay positions. a stretch of interstate 75 in ohio was shut down for hours after a tractor-trailer overturned, spilling its load of canned tomatoes. according to witnesses, the drivers seemed to lose control, driving off the road before a truck slipped on its side. he was taken to the hospital for treatment. in maryland, a reminder of america's ugliest internal conflict is now on display. the amputated leg of a civil war era soldier can now be viewed at ft. dietrich. the soldier after getting hit by a cannon ball in gettysburg. once it was removed, the soldier kept his leg as a reminder of the casualties of war. now for a look at your national and regional weather,

here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. i know. it is still ai llettle murky to ysa the least. you can see the showers. not a lot of rain with this. just enough to keep the roads damp. this will kick through during the morning hours. further to the north, the snow continues to fall. the high elevations it is incredible with this. it is very cool. once you go up in height. around san francisco, we are doing okay. this storm system just a slow moving upper level low means it is cut off and spinning here. we don't have storm iing to kic

it out. it will be moving through the mountain west. the forecast today, showers widespread out there. for the most part, count on damp weather. high pressure to the north. keeping you dry today. temperatures in the mid 60s. that is ayaverage. eugene will be around astoria. >> i think we would like a touch of wa rx axwarmt. it is may, right? >> unbelievable. thank you so much. well also coming up. dell sores, linked in and the nfl lock out spurs high interest. >> plus oprah is saying good-bye

with a little help from her super star friends including one fresh off her husband's scandal. >> coming up. the bruns bounce back and the cavalier as win something. you are watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. a warning from treasury secretary tim geithner. he says if republicans make passage of their budget plan a condition of increasing the deficit limit, they will bear the responsibility for the first debt default in u.s. history. republican presidential candidate newt gingerich has apologized to fellow republican paul ryan for criticizing his proposal to overhaul medicare by replacing it with vouchers. on nbc's "meet the press" gingerich labeled ryan's proposal a, quote, right wing

social engineering. congresswoman gabrielle giffords will undergo surgery today on her skull. doctors will be replacing a piece that was removed to allow room for brain swelling in january. a new study from harvard shows that coffee may help protect men from prostate cancer. those who drank the most cups of coffee, six or more cups daily had less chance of developing the cancer. from spain, tv crews were on hand as a building collapsed. the structure was being taken down following last week's deadly earthquake. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,479 after dipping 68 points yesterday. the s&p lost a fraction while the nasdaq went up a fraction. taking a look at overseas

trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei gained 95 points while in hong kong the hang seng rose 110. markets took some wild turns on tuesday, but stocks finished off with an afternoon rebound that could continue today. after the bell, pc maker dell reported its profit nearly tripled during its fiscal first quarter. the better than expected earnings pushed dell shares sharply higher in late trade. earlier in the day, a dramatically disappointing forecast from hewlett packard weighed heavily on the dow. hp shares tumbled heavily on the market. walmart dragged its stock 1% lower as shoppers pinched to buy higher gas prices opted to just buy the basics. weak manufacturing and housing data raised concerns about the economy's strength and helped pull industrial giants boeing and caterpillar down. elsewhere on the earnings front, sales slipped in the first

quarter at home depot, but shares of the retailer rose, thanks to a healthy jump in profit. market watchers are keeping a close eye on linkedin ahead of its first publicly traded day tomorrow. they bumped up the price range of its ipo by $10. a coalition of health professionals and organizers are launching a print ad campaign in several u.s. cities today in an effort to convince mcdonald's to stop marketing for kids through its happy meals. the group is calling for the retirement of ronald mcdonald. the nfl lockout is big business for some folks. our colleagues noticed this twitter post that apparently loaned $500,000 to one player at a staggering 23%.interest. you still have to pay the bills. coming up, atlanta's brian mccann comes through for the braves not once, but twice.

plus, the mavericks thunder through their opener with big help from dirk nowitzki. your early look at sports is straight ahead. in weather, you can find rain just about anywhere. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, the nba lottery was held yesterday and for the cavs, after losing lebron james nearly a year ago, the team rebuilding can begin. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. the nba lottery is basketball's version of the consolation prize and the cleveland cavaliers will gladly take it. dan gilbert let hits 14-year-old son, nick, who suffers from a rare nerve disease represent the team. he was a huge good luck charm. turned the top ten pick into the number one selection. the cavs have the fourth pick in this summer's draft. the last time they had the first overall pick, they drafted some guy named lebron james. to the playoff webs the question before the western conference finals, would the mavs be rusty after nine days off? dirk nowitzki answered that with a resounding no.

scored automatic from the free-throw line and 24 for 24 charity strikes. mavs took game one, 121-112. nhl playoffs, the bruins got a big lift from tyler seguin. he scored a goal and assisted on two others. bruins even the series with a 6-5 win over the lightning. harmon killebrew lost his battle to cancer. he was perhaps the most popular hitter in history. last week, he made a decision to end treatment and spend his final days with family and friends. he passed away peacefully yesterday in his arizona home. robin killebrew was 47 years old. the braves ryan mccann took a play out of killebrew's playbook. in the ninth, he won it with another homer.

two at-bats, two home runs, not a bad day at the office. the braves won it, 2-1. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. coming up, the good and bad in celebrity baby news. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, why a steady diet of these fast food favorites has helped one man reach a super sized milestone. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this early wednesday morning. 78 in phoenix. probably one of the coolest days you will have for a long time. chilly with rain this morning. that will get better as the day goes on. tomorrow dry weather in the west. well if you are watching us in seattle, washington. see vintage dpi tay daguitar as. and that is your pacific event of the day.

now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. donald trump may not be taking on the role of presidential candidate, but there is another job he has lined up. grandpa. the mogul's 29-year-old daughter has announced that she is expecting a baby girl in july. meanwhile, the battle between kelsey grammar and ex-wife camille over their children is getting nasty. the former frazier star has filed for sole custody of their two young kids. and some of the biggest names in hollywood were on hand among a crowd of 13,000 in chicago yesterday for oprah's grand exit as her talk show nears an end. tom hanks, tom cruise, michael jordan and jerry seinfeld all surprised oprah for the taping of two of her final three shows. another surprise guest, and this surprised a lot of people, maria shriver appeared on the same day that it was revealed her estranged husband arnold schwarzenegger had a child with a household member a decade ago.

this getting a lot of attention. >> i would imagine that this is going to draw huge audiences. a lot of people want to hear what she has to say. >> if she did sit down. and this comes to us from green bay, wisconsin, where one man reached a meaty milestone by sinking his teeth into it. don has had a steady diet of big macs since 1972. he since consumed the iconic burger for 39 years and to celebrate, he ate number 25,000. don's fascination with the food was documented in the film "super size me." seven years later, he's still in good health, we think, we hope, and he's setting records with the meal he values the most. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

one french daredevil deserves his name, spider-man. the french spider-man traveled to istanbul to climb sapphire, the tallest building in turkey. it took him under two hours to scale over 800 feet. the task wasn't without its challenges. slippery glass left on-lookers below pretty on edge. for centuries, couples looking for an alternative fertility treatment have headed to a small town in the philippines. locals claim a two-hour dance helps couples conceive when science cannot help. the group performance in front

of the patron saint of fertility. it's also believed the dance helps singles find matches. ancient history can be yourself in dallas. four dinosaur skeletons will go on the auction block next month. at 400 years old, their value has appreciated over time. the most expensive skeletons, stegosaurus is estimated to sell for $2.8 million. the only concern is where the lucky bidder is going to find room for it. >> that was my favorite. i would route for the underdog. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. in washington, the senate will vote on a republican plan to expand offshore drilling in the gulf of mexico, virginia and alaska. it calls for a one-year extension of the drilling leases suspended by the obama administration after the bp oil

spill the. personal items owned by ted kosinski will be sold by u.s. marshals in an online auction. items include his type writer, various versions of his manifesto. proceeds will be used to compensate some of his victims. happy birthday to 30 rock's tina fey. 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 details on an investigation now being launched into former governor arnold schwarzenegger's extra marital affair. and meet a woman who says she and her mother were humiliated when southwest airlines told them they were too fat to fly. 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. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com