[ cheers and applause ] ♪ this morning on "early today," no knockout punch. mitt romney appears to clench a narrow super tuesday win but fails to bring clarity to the primary race. cosmic curse? astronomers claim to uncover a clue to the sinking of the titanic. serious competition. the world's fastest man takes on the world's most eligible bachelor. 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 split decision. yesterday on super tuesday,

republican presidential candidate mitt romney pulled off a narrow victory in the key delegate rich state of ohio but he lost several other states to rival rick santorum. romney was the apparent winner of ohio with 38%. that is just 1% more than santorum. in virginia, it was a two-man race because santorum and newt gingrich didn't make it onto the ballot. romney is the projected winner there with 60%. with 72%, romney also won massachusetts, the state where he was governor. romney is the projected winner in vermont with 40%. in the idaho caucuses, romney won a decisive victory with 62%. he also picked up four delegates in wyoming while ron paul picks up one. rick santorum the projected winner in tennessee with 37%. he's also the projected winner in oklahoma with 34%. with 40%, santorum is the

projected winner of the caucuses in north dakota. not surprisingly, newt gingrich took his home state of georgia with 47%. that's his first win since south carolina. and earlier, nbc news called mitt romney the projected winner in alaska with 33%. let's get more on super tuesday and the race in ohio. nbc's tracie potts joins us from the state capital, columbus. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. taking a look at those numbers you just showed us, it's pretty clear that mitt romney is beginning to solidify his lead among his republican challengers. he's now got three times as many delegates as his closest competitor. he's proven he can win a tight race. >> we need mitt! >> reporter: it appears mitt romney ekes out a narrow victory over rick santorum in ohio, as little as one percentage point. >> i'm not going to let you down. i'm going to get this

nomination. >> reporter: romney realizes it's all about delegates, and he's now got more than 300. it's a numbers game, and he's winning. >> tonight we're doing some counting. we're counting up the delegates for the convention. it looks good. we're counting down the days until november. that looks even better. >> reporter: romney also won his home state, massachusetts, vermont, virginia, idaho, alaska, and four delegates in wyoming. santorum scored victories in tennessee, oklahoma, and north dakota. >> we have won in the west, the midwest, and the south. we're ready to win across this country. >> reporter: newt gingrich only won his home state of georgia and may end up with less than half of that state's delegates. santorum today is urging him to drop out. >> we are not going to allow the elite to decide who we are allowed to nominate. >> wow! >> reporter: ron paul had hoped to win the caucus states, but he lost them all.

still, he told supporters his message is being heard. >> make sure they hear our message all the way to d.c.! >> reporter: so now with super tuesday behind the focus turns to the south and the plains. today, newt gingrich will be in alabama and santorum, rick santorum, he'll be in mississippi and kansas. lynn? >> tracie potts in columbus, ohio, thanks so much. where do the candidate stand in terms of states and delegates won as they try to reach that all-important 1,143 needed to get the republican nomination? as of now, mitt romney has picked up 323 delegates, that's in 13 states. rick santorum has a total of 101 delegates in seven states. newt gingrich has 105 in two states. as we mentioned last night, ron paul picked up his very first delegate. there were two other super tuesday results to mention. both of them from ohio. long time cleveland congressman dennis kucinich lost a democratic showdown made

necessary by a newly redrawn district map. he lost to 15 turn congresswoman marcy kaptur of toledo. she will face the man known as joe the plumber. samuel joe wurzelbacher claimed his victory in 2008 after his working class concerns to taxes to then candidate barack obama. here is a look at some of the other stories making news early today in america. a dramatic end to a police chase in dallas. state troopers used so-called pit maneuver to bump the car of a driver who had led them on a pursuit for more than half an hour. the car spun around on a bridge along interstate 30 before finally coming to a stop. the suspect had no warrants and wouldn't say why he refused to pull over. a pair of police officers in oregon have been honored as heroes after saving a man from a burning car. they not only battled extreme heat and flames, they also had

trouble convincing the victims to allow them to help. they were finally able to rescue the driver who is believed to have been under the influence. and, finally, the u.s. has set a new world record. one we should be proud of. >> we are. >> he is. 450 women wearing just their swim suits and smiles set a guinness record tuesday for the largest bikini parade. tourism promoters in florida came up with the publicity stunt after seeing the previous record of 357 bikini clad women set in australia last fall. that just won't do. we have to have it here in the states. it's in florida. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is meteorologist bill karins with your weather channel forecast. >> does florida really need publicity for gorgeous people and gorgeous beaches? >> i don't think they do. there's another reason to go down there. >> a little advertisement, i guess. good morning, everyone. we had the incredible rains in hawaii yesterday we were talking about. oahu was getting nailed by a lot of heavy rain. looking a little better today.

the pictures yesterday were pretty incredible. the mountainous areas received a ton of rain. that had to roll down through the hills of the ravines. we saw some of the flooding pictures. a lot of basements looked just like this. how do we look this morning out there? we are watching the rain that's now shifted south here of the maui area. that's approaching the big island. that's where we'll see the focus of the heavier rains. still showers on the backside of the trough also. as far as the west coast goes, cold, chilly air mass. the storm system that brought incredible winds yesterday is pushing out. very windy yesterday, even in l.a. that's leaving in its wake some chilly air. that storm, by the way, located over the four-corner region. cool conditions behind it. it should be dry, at least. that's going to lead to a good deal of sunshine today. kind of a typical, crisp spring morning for you out there. it will lead to a decent afternoon. we can hopefully carry the jacket home from seattle to portland.

enjoy the sunny day. you don't get a lot of them lately. 45 in boise. all areas in interior california will be sunny also. start to th morning also. nice little warm-up tomorrow for all areas of the west. >> very nice. thanks so much, bill. a down day on wall street, the big day for apple, and one chicken nugget sells for thousands. seriously. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, if howard stern claims to be the king of all media, she's got to be the queen. coming up, a new look for kobe bryant and the end of the line for peyton manning. 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. iran is giving permission for inspectors to visit nuclear sites suspected of possible secret work on a nuclear weapon. president obama says sanctions are working as world powers will restart talks with iran over disputed nuclear program. a new series says the sinking of the titanic almost 100 years ago may have been caused by what's called a super moon. it's suspected a powerful full moon in january 1912 created strong tides, sending a flotilla of icebergs into the titanic's path. prince harry took to the dance floor in jamaica on tuesday. the prince jumped out to an early lead against usain bolt and learned how to make his trademark lightning bolt pose. now here is an early look at how wall street will kick off the day.

the dow opens at 12,759 after dropping 203 points yesterday. the s&p sank 20 points and the nasdaq stumbled 40. in tokyo, the nikkei lost 61 points. while in hong kong, the hang seng fell 168. signs of a weak european economy and worries about greece's ability to restructure its debt added to fears of a chinese slowdown. the selloff started early and led the dow to its first loss of more than 200 points since november. financial, material, and industrial stocks each shed more than 2% with alcoa and caterpillar leading the way down. oil prices slipped $2 to settle below $105 a barrel. after the bell pandora internet radio tumbled as much as 21% after a disappointing quarterly loss. earlier online recruiter monster.com rallied 11% on its word it's reviewing strategic alternatives. nutrisystem shed 11% after

weighing in than a wider than expected quarterly loss. elsewhere a texas jury found r. allen stanford guilty on 13 of 14 charges, tied to a $7 billion ponzi scheme. he now could spend the rest of his life behind bars. by one count, some 33 advertisers have now bailed on rush limbaugh's radio program following his tirade against georgetown law student sandra fluke. today is the day for apple's highly anticipated ipad 3 unveiling. a nebraska woman has sold a 3-year-old mcdonald's chicken mcnugget that resembles president george washington sort of, for $8100 on ebay. $8100. unbelievable. coming up, the mavs' big man holds off the knicks, a new skin for the masked mamba, and another two teams set for march

madness. plus, last night's miami heat made seemingly impossible shots look easy. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. after one of the windiest days in it the west, you're going to like the forecast. it's coming up. you're watching "early today." while the eastern half of good morning.

if you're just waking up, this

is "early today." in sports, after a 14-year career with the indianapolis colts, it appears as of today, quarterback peyton manning will announce his departure. here is nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all of your sports headlines. >> good morning. the peyton manning era is over in indianapolis. the colts are expected to cut the four-time mvp today. manning, who missed last season with a neck injury, due a $28 million bonus and had four years remaining on his deal. the colts have the first round pick in the draft and likely will select quarterback andrew luck. as for peyton, is now a free agent. basketball. knicks down against the mavericks. stoudemire gave new york the lead with seven minutes to play but they fizzled down the stretch. dirk nowitzki with 2 of his 28. dallas wins it 95-85. heat and nets. a couple of ways to use the backboard. pittman's jumper off the glass and bounced in. worth another look. i don't think dexter could do it again if he tried.

lebron james banks it in. everything right for the heat and cut down the nets 108-78. who is that masked man? that is kobe bryant looking like the lone ranger with a black mask. he switched back to a clear one in the second quarter. in the fourth he did this. drilled a jumper to force overtime. pistons clicking on all cylinders in o.t. a putback dunk. you can't mask what happened to the lakers. they lost to one of the worst teams in the league 88-85 in o.t. good day to be a detroit fan. university of detroit won the horizon league and earned an automatic bid to the tournament. the titans could surprise some teams in the big dance winning easily 68-50. south dakota state and western illinois needed overtime for a bid. griffin callahan knocked down the three to put south dakota on top. they won the conference summit title 52-50. that is your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin.

which 25-year-old starlet was mistaken last weekend for a 60 plus singer? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, out of tragedy, another story of survival and new beginnings. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early

today." the wild, windy weather of yesterday in southern california, portions of arizona and throughout southern nevada is a thing of the past. that storm is leaving us. in its wake, definitely a chillier air mass. highs today only in phoenix of 63. 55 in vegas. 65 in l.a. as we go to thursday's forecast, that's when we're going to be watching things improving. we should see warmer weather eventually, especially areas of the northwest. if you're watching on knbc 4 in los angeles, california, in nearby hollywood, see the props and costumes from this year's awards winners. >> all right, bill. thank you so much. here is an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. lady gaga is twitter's all-time champion. she passed 20 million followers. that is the most ever on the site. unreal. twitter's top five show music rules. in second, of course, justin bieber. he has 18.1 million followers.

katy perry has 15.7 million. shakira, nearly 14.6 million, and rihanna with 14.5 million followers. >> do you follow any of them? >> lady gaga. >> you do? >> i do. denver broncos' tim tebow set the record straight regarding "the bachelor" on tuesday. quote, rumors can be crazy. even though i watched the show before, i'm definitely not going to be on the next bachelor. sorry, bill. you're going to have to wait. finally, 66-year-old debbie harry got a big ego boost over the weekend when paparazzi mistook her in dark glasses for 25-year-old lindsay lohan. >> for lindsay's sake, we're not going to put the side-by-side comparison. that wouldn't be nice. >> not at all. >> i can't believe you don't follow the beibs. >> he posted too much. it was clogging up my twitter

account. >> i'll talk to him. >> oh, good. thank you. this comes from news 5 in cincinnati where in nearby piner, kentucky, a family's moment of joy saved them from the horror of last week's deadly tornadoes. they had left for the hospital where the expected mom gave birth to a baby boy. because of that, they were not home when a twister ripped through their neighborhood destroying their house. while the family has lost nearly everything, they called the birth, quote, god's perfect timing. can you imagine? had they been home at the time. that home was completely leveled. crediting their survival with the birth of their baby boy. two blessings. >> doesn't get any better than that. makes the loss a lot easier to stomach. >> it does. good luck to them. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

after putting off tours for weeks, a scottish teen is actually being rewarded rather than punished. finally tidying up, the teenager discovered a lottery ticket worth almost $80,000. while rummaging through the piles, he actually almost threw the ticket away. grateful for his mother's nagging, the young man says he is now going to treat his parents to a nice vacation. good idea there. a group of extreme sports fanatics have come up with a shocking new game, literally. players carry low voltage stun guns to zap whoever is in possession of the ball. it's called tak ball. two teams of four players each try to score by throwing a 24-inch ball into the goal.

the tasers do pack a small punch, though. they are only about a tenth as powerful as those used by police. finally, one shop in beverly hills is making it pretty hard to deny your sweet tooth. much to the satisfaction of its customers, it's added a 24-hour cup cake vending machine to its store front. >> now we're talking. >> brilliant, folks. patrons simply swipe a credit card, they pick up their poison and they collect their treats. more machines will be making their debuts in new york, chicago, and washington, d.c. as soon as this summer. and i thank you for that, as somebody who lives in new york. apparently the owner had this idea when she was pregnant and she thought i need a cup cake at all hours of the day. >> a lot of things we would like machines, a little instant quick fix. >> brilliant. appreciate it. a look at the stories we will follow throughout the day. newt gingrich will start receiving secret service

protection today after winning his home state of georgia in yesterday's super tuesday primaries. he will continue his bid for the republican party's nomination today in montgomery, alabama. bill clinton will be in haiti visiting various schools, hospitals, and clinics. he was named special envoy for haiti in 2009 to help the people and government to rebuild the country after a devastating earthquake. happy birthday to rachel weisz who turns 42. all day long, you can stay on top of the latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. 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. get the latest super tuesday results. plus today's political professionals break down the fight for the gop nomination. in a "today" exclusive the dad who shot his daughter's laptop after a facebook rant is live in the studio with that daughter. now, keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports, and more. i'm lynn berry. thank you 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