this morning on "early today," coming clean. after days of denial, new york congressman anthony weiner admits sending sexually suggestive photos. tornado terror, a security camera captures the cheer force of massachusetts's deadly twister. and life on mars, a self-described arm chair astronomer spots a mysterious structure on the red planet. 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 a stunning confession. after days of denial, married congressman anthony weiner admitted yesterday that he did, in fact, send a lewd photo to one of his twitter followers. weiner, however, says he has no plans to resign. tracy pots is in washington with more. he wants voters to decide. >> i am deeply sorry for the pain this has caused my wife, huma, and our family and my constituents, my friends, supporters and staff. >> reporter: admitting it was him that sent an explicit photo to a woman over the internet. then panicked and lied what he posted it publicly. turns out it wasn't his first

time sexting. nbc has not verified photos. >> we wrote the story after a congressman admitted that his computer had been invaded by a hack. nancy pelosi is calling for an investigation. he says he will cooperate but won't step down. he had been considered a rising star here on the hill. but in fact, lynn, there are those that think he can still win re-election. tracey, thank you.

in other news this morning, dry, desert winds are fanning the flames of a stubborn wildfire in arizona that's doubled in size since the weekend and is now headed towards the new mexico border. a layer of thick smoke from the fire can be seen as far away as iowa as the blaze works its way across the state. now some 365 square miles in size, the flames have destroyed five buildings and torched nearly 230,000 acres of forest. officials believe the blaze was sparked by an abandoned campfire. and it is a much different story in the midwest where residents and crews are scrambling to save a southwest iowa town from the swollen missouri river. a levee has been breached in two places near the town of hamburg and officials are expecting new breaches in the coming days. officials say crews are working around the clock to construct a secondary barrier. but if that doesn't work, portions of the community could be under eight feet of water for weeks. overseas, german health

officials still don't know what's caused a deadly e. coli outbreak that's so far has killed 23 people and sickened more than 2,300. this morning, german officials are backtracking from blame thing an organic farm saying tests showed no connection between the sprout grown there and the suspected strain. two u.s. soldiers have been treated for suspected ecoli infections. european union agriculture ministers are holding emergency talks in belgium today to discuss the crisis. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. a survival story played out in front of a surveillance camera last week in massachusetts's deadly tornado. the video shows a driver parking between two cars just before the storm pulled through the area. the ef-3 twister killed three leaving scattered debris and destruction in its wake. video used to convict a

mastermind of a san diego courthouse bombing has been released. prosecutors proved the former city employee planned to play the hero to collect reward money and receive leniency on unrelated cases in return for helping investigators. he faces a minimum of 30 years in prison. a florida woman's work day came to a horrific end when she was attacked during a robbery. the mother of four was savagely beaten by one of the suspects while the other grabbed cash from a safe inside the casino office. police believe the robbery was an inside job, but have not made any arrests. finally, to georgia where a store owner shot at point-blank range during a robbery attempt is very lucky to be alive. he survived the attempt on his life thanks to a medallion he was wearing that was covering his chest. his last line of defense deflected the bullet leaving the man with just bruises, but with his life intact.

now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins. he has your weather channel forecast. good morning bill. but the me dallion, you can't go wrong with that story right? >> it is like straight out of hollywood. >> i don't think that would save me. let's chat about it weatherwise. the lack of heat on the west coast. along with that big brainstorm moving up through idaho and montana. when you get a weather pattern like this. you will get the sort of weather happening where you get 105 happening. temperatures cooler in the west. 71 in la where it feels like early spring. notice we did get a little warm think here. and this weather system kicked up the winds yesterday.

that sorm storm system is now m up here. a lot of snow here too a lot of flooding concerns here. a slight chance of showers. look at how cool it is. warmer in the deserts all of the west below normal. here is a look shasta. even for you, on the cool side. slow improvement. >> inching there. all right bill, thank you so much. stocks stumble, apple unveils and what would you pay for lu h lunch. yet another honor and cause for

lady gaga. >> the boston bruins make a statement and bad news for one of college football's biggest programs. 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. one president obama's top economic advisers, austin goolsbee chairman of the white house council of economic advisers said yesterday he will leave his post this summer to return to teaching. this comes as president obama facing growing criticism over the nation's growing economy. a new washington post/abc poll shows nearly 6 in 10 say the economy has not even begun to get back on track and the majority who say it has improved call it weak at best. the president's approval rating now stands at 47%. the u.s. is scrambling to

arrange a power transfer in yemen while president saleh is in saudi arabia for medical treatment. officials say he plans to return home within days. dramatic footage from a chinese television shows the damage from the devastating flood waters in the country's southwest region. china's official news service says 14 people are dead, 35 are missing. and finally, a discovery by a self-styled armed chair astronomer has the internet buzzing about the possibility of life on mars. using google earth mars explorer, he zoomed in to discover what appears to be a white cylindrical object which he claims is about 700 feet long and 150 feet wide. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,089 after dipping 61 points yesterday. the s&p lost 13 points.

the nasdaq fell 30. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei added 62 points. but in hong kong, the hang seng was down 80. stocks slid for a fourth straight day monday with the s&p 500 hitting its lowest point since march. friday's disappointing may jobs report has apparently convinced many traders the recovery is indeed in trouble. monday's losses came across the board. all ten industry groups fell on the s&p. financials were hit hard. citigroup lost 4% as did bank of america, closing at its closest point since may 2009. lowes dropped more than 2% after one firm cut its stock rating, blaming home prices and jobs. oil fell under $100 a barrel to a penny over 99 on recovery fears and speculation opec may raise supplies. energy shares yield fueled by chevron.

elsewhere, steve jobs unveiled apple's new music streaming service, icloud. but jobs' second pup appearance since taking medical leave in january didn't keep apple shares from dipping. the supreme court ruled haliburton shareholders can pursue a class action lawsuit claiming the company inflated its stock price. fed up with republicans questioning his experience, the white house blamed partisan obstructionism. finally, double dip recession or not, people will still pay to sit down with warren buffett. bidding in the annual auction with a lunch with warren buffett, which is already over $2 million, ends tomorrow night. pregame baseball high jinks

and a football champion is stripped of its crown. plus, the stanley cup is tainted by a vicious, illegal hit. in weather, our spring heat wave is peak in the middle of the country and heading to the east coast. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, boston is down two games to none in the stanley cup final. a hit by an opposing player from vancouver may have given the bruins the jump start they were looking for. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. it took three games, but the boston bruins finally found their offense in the stanley cup finals. game three started with a bang. the canucks aaron roam leveled horton with a hit across the middle. taken off on a stretcher, diagnosed with a concussion. the good news, he was responsive and moving all of his extremities. rome give a game misconduct. the bruins responded in the second period. a neckel ball that the red sox tim wakefield would have been proud of.

3-0 when he got behind the defense and made the move on roberto alongo. bruins scored in the period and evened the series. with all eyes on ohio state's football program, usc took another hit. as expected, the bcs stripped sc of their 2004 title. the trojans will remain the '04 champs. a good day for flaxco burress. he received 21 months in jail for accidentally shooting himself in the leg in a nightclub. he says he'll be ready to play when and if the football season starts. ever wonder what basketball players do in the winter? on the game before the indians, all part of the plan to stay loose despite having the worst record in baseball. i think the twins will give the jamaican bobsled team a run for their money.

that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. a denial from cameron diaz and a lawsuit against michael jackson's estate. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, it's a sign of the season, high school graduation. but at one ceremony in california, everyone will be seeing double. we'll explain. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this tuesday morning. similar to yesterday. not a lot of wet weather, but more clouds. eugene, medford 74. phoenix and tucson dry and sunny. not as hot as we could be. tomorrow's forecast, similar. not many changes in the next couple of days. sacramento, california, travel back to the days of speed, sound and style. at the california automobile museum and that is your pacific event of the day. you look like a t-bird girl. >> thank you so much. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. right now, no one in the world is more in demand than lady gaga.

last night, fashion designers presented her with the 2011 fashion icon award. earlier monday, the u.s. ambassador to italy announced that she will participate in europe's annual gay pride parade held this year in rome. cameron diaz said rumors of a breakup between her and slug er alex rodriguez are not true. >> a setback for wesley snipes. spb refused in lloyd's of london has to review his case. gone to court claiming it owes michael jackson's estate for its canceled tour because jackson lied about his medical history and drug usage in his policy application. the iconic red jacket from his thriller video is being cautioned later this month. it's expected to fetch as much as $400,000 bucks.

should or will? >> slouhould maybe $800,000. >> sorry, 400 thould. >> inflation. >> i need a sugar daddy. >> this comes to us from knsd san diego where one graduation ceremony will lead to several deja vu moments. valhalla high's graduation will be very different from past ceremonies. this year, the school is graduating nine sets of twins, three sets of identical and six sets of fraternal twins will pick up diplomas adding to the what are the odds feat for twins. one set of twins finished second in the class with the exact same gpa. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

monsters took to the streets of poland. but no one was running in fear. dragons are thought to play an important role in the country's history. now they become the inspiration for the annual dragon parade. inspired by a local legend that the creatures used to live in town, residents celebrate with a festival aconsidered by a fireworks show. baristas gathered to see who could brew the best cup of joe. they had to make a total of 12 drinks in 15 minutes. they weren't only judged on taste, but on presentation, technique and cleanliness. fittingly, it took place in colombia. and another event in colombia will certainly wake you up.

at the international tattoo convention, you can get ink ed or freaked out. this lady has dental implants and piercings. she also is a lawyer and a mother of four. read me a story, mom. no, wait, i'm going to hide in my closet because you're terrifying. >> my mid life crisis is going to be interesting, just not that interesting. >> i feel like i need to be prepared for it. maybe an earring. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. in washington, president obama welcomes german chancellor angela merkel for an official visit. the two are expected to discuss the conflict in libya and europe's debt crisis. merkel will receive the nation's highest civilian honor at a dinner tonight. the electronic entertainment

expo known as e-3 kicks off in california. those in the industry will gather to see new products. a follow up to the wii console is rumored. and today, musician prince turns 53. 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 duchess of york, sarah ferguson talks about going from royalty to reality on her new tv show. and as meredith vieira prepares to say farewell to "today" matt, al and the gang share their favorite moments of the past five years. 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.

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