and crash course. two cars collide during a live tevision news report. 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 bitter debate. in their last face-to-face confrontation before next tuesday's primaries in arizona and michigan, the republican presidential candidates argued about bailouts, budgets and health care. tracie potts is joining us with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. this was an zernt important debate between the candidates. the polls up in michigan virtually tied now. for that reason the top two candidates went back and forth all night.

mitt romney and rick santorum overtalking each other at times over health care, earmarks and tax breaks. >> i never voted to raise taxes. >> you voted to raise the debt ceiling five times without compensating cuts in spending. >> reporter: santorum admitted voting for things he didn't support like no child left behind and family planning. >> politics is a team sport, folks. sometimes you have to rally together and do something. >> while i was fighting to save the olympics you were fighting to save the bridge to nowhere. >> reporter: santorum accused romney of backing big banks but abandoned auto workers. >> you bailed out wall street and when it came to the auto workers and the folks in detroit he said no. >> i don't want to save any wall street bank. i just want to make sure we don't lose all the banks. >> reporter: who is the most conservative? not santorum ron paul said. >> because he's a fake.

>> reporter: newt gingrich struggled to get a word in. here's what he said about immigration. >> it is utterly stupid to say that the united states government can't control the border. >> reporter: the candidates trying to draw clear differences as we get closer to critical votes. it turns out this could be the last debate with all four on stage. the next one that was planned for atlanta, ron paul and rick santorum said they are not coming. >> tracie potts there in washington, thank you. syrian military forces have stepped up their attacks on rebel bases. more than 70 people were killed in syria on wednesday. in homs, shelling attacks killed two journalists, including american marie colvin. intercepted communication between syrian army officers revealed they had pledged to, quote, kill any journalists who set foot on syrian soil. as the fighting continues, the united nations is sending a top humanitarian official to syria and is expected to call for aid groups to be given access to opposition forces.

a third straight day of protests in afghanistan have turned deadly over the burning of the copies of the koran by u.s. soldiers. at least four protesters have been killed this morning in rioting breaking out during demonstrations. meanwhile, nato says a man wearing an afghan uniform killed two service members. their nationalities were not given. the afghan taliban claimed responsibility after urging afghans to target foreign military bases, quote, invade forces and their convoys. the u.s. has apologized for burning the korans, which they said was a mistake. here is a look at some of the other stories making news early today in america. near seattle, some dramatic video shows an entire house just giving way to a river, falling victim to flooding in the area due to heavy rain and melting snow. in the end, only the garage was left standing.

seven local rivers were under flood warnings last night. to the north one home destroyed and another damaged by a mudslide. forecasters hope a cold front will stop the snow melt. robbers stormed into a mcdonald's in arizona and ordered a manager at gunpoint to open the safe. the video shows one of the thieves hitting the woman before taking the cash. the manager was not seriously hurt. police are looking into whether this case is connected to a string of robberies in the area ch. in los angeles after a car crash a vehicle was sent right into a fire hydrant causing that huge gusher there. it happened right in the middle of evening rush hour, too. finally, a scare during a live tv news report in florida as two cars collided right behind the reporter. a taxi cab was broadsided while a reporter from our nbc affiliate wfla in tampa was reporting on gas prices.

formally, there were no serious injuries. for a look at the national weather, we'll go to meteorologist bill cains with your weather channel forecast. >> good morning. the river flood stuff is always amazing pictures whenever you see the house just falling in and the car going right into the backyard. the rain is now over with. we are seeing a dry day today for many areas of the northwest with high pressure building in for at least one day. temperatures have cooled off, too, with the high pressure, so today is probably going to be one of the better days we'll have in the extended forecast. a little chilly in medford, 43 in seattle. southern california, you're just fine. the cold front not quite making it to southern california. it will get hung up here. the high pressure, that protects us for now. you already notice this little red line here, that's the next warm front already indicating a little more moisture in the next storm system. some of that will start to come in to the northwest late tonight into tomorrow, so additional

rainfall is expected, but the river levels are all going down. we have already seen the worst of it. notice some mild air hanging on down here in southern california. and it looks good. we have all the big parties and festivities this weekend associated with the oscars upcoming. saturday to sunday it cools off a bit into the mid to upper 60s. that's very comfortable weather out there in california. so the forecast for today, northwest, enjoy this. 50 degrees in seattle. vegas looks nice, too, and all of arizona should have pretty much clear skies. that's a look at your national ukiah, we are looking good there. pendleton, oregon, no complaints and 47. as advertised one of the better days of the week in the northwest. >> as promised, thank you so much. pc sales lag. online privacy makes progress.

and the intellectual property fight that is truly lin-sane. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, which hollywood heart throb has most wives willing to trade in their men? coming up, jeremy lin and carmelo anthony hit their strike and lakers with a chance at a buzzer beater in minnesota. you're watching "early today."

good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. a series of deadly attacks across iraq this morning are being called a huge security failure. at least 50 people were killed and more than 200 injured in coordinated bombings and shootings. the worst of the blasts occurred in baghdad during the busy rush hour. after criticism, virginia's governor bob mcdonald reversed course on wednesday on a bill

mandating invasive ultrasounds for women prior to an abortion. the newly amended bill would still require an external ultrasound. a university of virginia lacrosse player has been convicted of the murder of the killing of his ex-girlfriend. the jury recommended 26 years in prison for george huguely after he attacked yeardley love in a jealous drunken rage. his sentencing is scheduled for april. a dramatic video from argentina shows a packed commuter train slamming into a buenos aires station after it was unable to stop. 49 people were killed and 600 injured as train cars crushed into one another. and an fda panel is recommending an approval of the first new weight loss prescription drug in more than a decade. the drug had impressive results with most patients losing nearly 10% of their overall weight after a year. the fda had rejected kunixa in

the past over safety concerns. the drugmaker will have to conduct more tests and even if given final approval, it may take three years for the drug to appear on the market. now here's an early look at how wall street kicks off the day. the dow opens at 12,938 after losing 27 points yesterday. the s&p was down 4 points with the nasdaq losing 15. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo, the nikkei added 41 points. but in hong kong, the hang seng fell 168. a day after the dow flirted with 13,000, caution kicked in for the first time in four days. banks led stocks lower on wednesday, as lingering worries about europe's economy and the details of greece's debt deal kept investors on the sidelines. after the markets closed shares of hewlett-packard fell after reporting revenue by low expectation as newly ceo meg

whitman struggled to turn the pc maker around. dell is expecting a lower than expected revenue forecast. overseas, shares of mazda slid nearly 7% after announcing it plans to sell $2 billion worth of new shares and drive half of its production base overseas. luxury home builder toll brothers tumbled 5% after reporting a quarterly loss. the sector as a whole suffered from data showing u.s. home resale surged but not enough. on the upside, garmin jumped 9% thanks to higher sales of gps systems last quarter. a number of internet giants including google have agreed to reporting a do not track button in most web browsers this year. the move is part of a white house push for congress to pass a privacy bill of rights. a delaware bankruptcy judge approved $370,000 in bonuses for 20 employees of the now defunct solar panel manufacturer solyndra that received $500,000 in federal loans before going

under. and finally jeremy lin may be the new york knicks hot sensation. lin filed for the phrase last week, but he is apparently fourth if line behind several others including a former coach. just lin sane, doesn't get old, does it? the thunder fight off a rally, plus jeremy lin and the knicks do it again. your early morning sprorts headlines are straight ahead. we'll go from the middle of the spring forecast back to winter this weekend. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, what looked more like an extra practice session brought the knicks record back to even. here is fred roggin with an early look at all of your sports headlines. good morning. after an embarrassing loss to the nets, the knicks' jeremy lin and carmelo anthony clicking on all cylinders last night. davis to j.r. smith, reverse alley-oop. the knicks came out flying in the opening quarter. carmelo looked pretty good in his second game back from injury. took the feed from lin and threw it down.

anthony had 15. lin had a double-double finishing with 17 points. they play the heat tonight. the last time the lakers in dallas, they were swept out of the playoffs. last night a different story. lakers stepped up down the stretch. kobe bryant to pau gasol and he missed the first but got the second to fall. team high of 24. l.a. was up by five. moments later kobe found andrew bynum. lakers held on and beat the mavs 96-91. experience in oklahoma city. the young thunder ran over the aging celts. it seemed like every time boston turned it over, the thunder were sprinting the other way. kevin durant to russell westbrook combined for 59 points and the thunder have won 11 straight at home. warriors and suns down to the final seconds. tied at 104. monte ellis spun and hit the fade-away with one second left. he had a game high of 26.

golden state won in dramatic fashion 106-104. great finish in minnesota between the jazz and timberwolves. under 10 seconds to play. al jefferson pulled up and tied the game at 98. plenty of time for the t-wolves. ridnour got it to fall at the buzzer. timberwolves rally from 16 down to win a thriller 100-98. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. lindsay lohan's week just keeps getting better. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, springtime comes early to one ohio animal shelter. we will explain. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this thursday morning. the rainy weather is a thing of the past in many areas of the northwest and up through oregon. today, a nice day. i can't promise you 100% sunshine, but at least it will be mild, the upper 40s to low 50s most areas. california looks good today. you'll cool off a little bit as we approach the upcoming weekend. tomorrow, we'll see another slug of moisture coming onshore with a warm front with the next storm system approaching, not as bad as the last one, just a little bit of light rain. if you're watching us on ktuu channel 2 in anchorage, alaska, sea fossils of the earliest predators that rolled on the

natural terrain at the alaska museum of natural history. here is an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. lindsay lohan got high marks from a los angeles judge at a hearing on wednesday. this is a total roll for her. the judge told lindsay lohan she is, quote n the homestretch of her probation for her 2007 drunk driving case. her probation officer is said to be pleased with her progress. and the national enquirer is drawing fire from whitney houston's family and fans for publishing a chilling photo of the singer's body in an open casket in the fine ram home where the invitation only viewing was held. actress helen carter who played queen elizabeth's mother in "the king's speech" has been made named an award. ben affleck has jumped on the facebook page showing his

actor and charity work. that's after you, bill, that's shocking. and for the third year in a row, "twilight" patinson has been named, quote, a man you'd trade your husband for with an overwhelming 64%. >> he looks great. >> he does look great. don't hate on him. and ryan gosselin was a runner-up with only 13%. it's funny how that letter keeps go unanswered. and this comes to us from wlwt at news 5 in cincinnati, ohio, where love is in the air a little early this year. an explosion of new kittens has left the local humane society with its handsful of new paws. cats don't normally begin breeding in the area until the end of march or early april, but like so many parts of the country it's been a mild winter

and the warmer temperatures have apparently been making the felines a little frisky. keep it g-rated. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

at one show in the philippines, you aren't just watching a play, you're a part of it. the performance has entertainers flying through the air, through props, and into the audience for a 360-degree experience. there is no dialogue or story. just music and action for the

ultimate interactive experience but watch your head. a 45-foot clear bottom pool hovers above. one man in nepal is standing proud. at just 22 inches, the 72-year-old claims to be the world's shortest man. he says he is often laughed at and ignored by women and hopes the recognition from guinness will make up for his hardship. the current record was set last year by a filipino man measuring over 23 inches tall. in australia, a unique gem that's pretty in pink. the diamond weighs in nearly 13 carats and estimated to be worth over $10 million. the name? the argyle pink jubilee and is currently being shaped and polished before going up for sale. similar in color to the diamond queen elizabeth ii received as a wedding gift. the diamond is quite rare. if i were stumbling upon it, i wouldn't even look twice.

>> that's what i want to know. i want to know who the person was who found it. >> it was a mining company and it was the largest stone they have ever found so they are experts so they know what to look for. >> must have been like this. >> i'm sure that happens a lot to them. time for a look at the stories we will follow throughout the day here on nbc. accused wikileaks informant army private first class bradley manning will be arraigned at ft. mead in maryland. he faces a general court-martial on 22 counts including aiding the enemy and could be convicted for life if convicted on that charge. former louisiana governor buddy roemer is expected to announce his departure from the develop presidential race and plans to run for president as an independent. happy birthday to dakota fanning. she turns 18 years old. all day long you can stay on top of those stories and others as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch

brian williams with "nbc nightly news". finally, here's a look at what is coming up later this morning on the "today" show. the latest details of the guilty verdict in the university of virginia lacrosse murder trial, plus reaction from the victim's family. and the wife of an amazing race producer speaks out on the mysterious death of her husband in africa. keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm lynn berry. thank you for watching "early today," your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a good one.

>> reporter: an overnight fire in sunnyvale destroys a home, concerns, questions now about the whereabouts of the family of four who lives here. i'm bob redell. we'll take you here live coming up. >> students at