stay tuned for "carson daly." thanks for watching. have a great night. see you tomorrow! [ cheers and applause ] ♪ this morning on "early today", stylish state dinner. the president and first lady roll out washington's red carpet for their london counterparts. fast forward. nasa shows off an impressive condensed view of the moon's revolution. and master marsupial. a four-legged critter is a hit on the web for its impressive downhill skills. 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 the campaign trail. on the heels of primaries in mississippi and alabama, republican presidential candidates rick santorum and mitt romney are shifting their focus much farther south looking to puerto rico this saturday. tracey is here with more. >> reporter: good morning. even though puerto rico will not vote in the november election, they do have 20 delegates at stake this weekend during the primary. that's why we are seeing the focus on the island this weekend. rick santorum today will be there for his second straight day of campaigning. he's been speaking with religious leaders, veterans there, business leaders. they have been talking about this on the mainland, and he said he would push for statehood if the people there want it and if they make english the official language. mitt romney will be there tomorrow, although he's focused

in illinois where he's launch a million dollars in new ads. that race is between him and gingrich, but santorum did make the ballot in most districts in illinois. newt gingrich has been there talking about mitt romney and all the money he's spending trying to get the nomination. gingrich said most of his money comes from wall street and big businesses. most of his money, gingrich's, comes from the middle class. >> tracie potts there in washington. thank you. the u.s. soldier accused of killing 16 afghan civilians has been moved out of the country to a detention center in kuwait. a military lawyer from his base in seattle is traveling to meet with his client. defense secretary leon panetta's talk to american troops in afghanistan yesterday, the marines were ordered to be unarmed and leave their weapons outside. as panetta's plane was arriving an afghan driver in a stolen pickup truck crashed into a ditch as he attempted to hit a group of marines.

that drive was killed. in his attempts to crush opposition to his regime, syrian president al assad was reportedly getting advice from iran. "the guardian" published e-mails september by assad and his wife since last june. he was advised how to handle the uprising and joked about promises of reform. assad was also told about western journalists in homs and urged to tighten the security grip on the city. the e-mail also showed assad and his wife enjoying a luxurious lifestyle as the violence escalated. this is a must have lighter note now. last night president obama and first lady michelle hosted their sixth state dinner, this one honoring david cameron and his wife samantha. the president and the first lady looked very nice in their

formals. at the dinner the president toasted to the nation's long alliance while prime minister cameron toasted the president saying what a pleasure it was to work with someone with, quote, clear reason and fundamental decency. this star-studded affair was also attended by actor george clooney and douton abbey. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. a surprise end to a freeway chase in california. after highway patrol officers bumped the back of a pickup truck to stop a suspected drunk driver, they found a baby inside. the infant was in a car seat and was not hurt. officers say they didn't know the child was in the truck until the pursuit was over. in south carolina, police officers arrived just in time to save one of their own. a state trooper had to be pulled from the fiery wreckage after his patrol car crashed while chasing a motorcyclist who was

doing more than 100 miles an hour. the officer broke both of his legs. the suspect got away. surveillance video from oregon shows a thief attacking the owner of a deli with pepper spray during a robbery. but the victim managed to fight back, grabbing a baseball bat and hitting the robber over and over again. both men eventually ran out of the store. the thief is still on the loose. and finally a ski resort as has posted a video of a possum riding the slopes on a tiny snowboard. his name is ratatouille just like the movie. and he's outfitted with an it ty bit ty ski pass. the resort closed last week due to lack of snow and warm weather. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins. he has your weather channel forecast. >> i have never seen the

possum's feet before. wow, okay. now i understand why they climb trees and hang upside down. good morning, everyone. a big storm system is impacting the region this morning and another one is dropping through friday into the weekend in southern california. so all the beautiful weather for everyone east of the rockies is going to stay there. and pretty much all the stormy weather is going to exist in the west, at least through sunday. temperatures have warmed up a little bit. the snow levels aren't quite as low today as they were with the last storm system, but still a good chunk of rain this morning. everything in green is the rain. you notice that all along the coastal areas from i-5 to the coast. and this is truly two areas of rain. one in northern california and another one further north into washington state. this storm is going to track up into british columbia like the last couple have. the next one will dig southwards here through california friday into saturday morning. so this morning it's definitely umbrella day. look at the rain here. then the rain fills back in to

spokane. the farther south you go, portland is seeing rain all morning. crescent city, the onshore flow continues down to ft. bragg with showers popping up from sacramento to san francisco. there's your forecast today, cloudy and no sunshine today. definitely an umbrella day. l.a., you'll wait until saturday morning for your rainfall. that's a look at weekend, so you'll hold on to dry weather the next couple of days. so it could be better. >> sorry west coast. thank you, bill. coming up, financials high, apple cruises higher and finding a roommate just as if you're finding a date? you're early morning business headlines are straight ahead.

plus, lindsay lohan is accused of a late-night driving incident and once again she's denying it. coming up, a win/lose situation for the knicks and the president fills out his bracket. you're watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. greg smith, an executive at goldman sachs investment bank in london for 12 years, resigned yesterday detailing his complaints in "the new york times". smith called the culture at sachs toxic saying the firm's interest came first with talk about ripping off clients. the ceo said smith was disgruntled and his claims did not reflect the culture of the bank. a jury in virginia determined that officials at virginia tech were negligent in waiting to warn students of a

gunman on campus in april 2007. 33 people died in the massacre. remains of 22 belgian children and 6 adults killed in a bus crash in switzerland are being returned to their home country. the victims were mourned in a church service and vigil yesterday in belgium. and nasa assembled an amazing video animation tracing the history of the moon. it shows the moon forming into a ball of molten rock, formation at the surface and many collisions that left all the craters. >> and now here's an early look at one of your top health headlines on msnbc.com. most women between the ages of 30 and 65 can go five years between cervical cancer screenings. however, experts say extending the time between pap smear tests may lead to a small increase in the number of women who could die from cervical cancer. the report says women age 21 to 30 should continue screenings

every three years. for more information on this and other health stories, check out the health page at msnbc.com. >> "early today" health is brought to you by vagisil wash with odor block, the confident clean. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 13,194. the s&p down a point, but the nasdaq was up a fraction. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei gained 72 points, while in hong kong the hang seng added 45. after posting the biggest gains of the year tuesday, blue chips eked out another win on wednesday. bank of america was the dow's biggest gainer closely followed by american express, however three of the four banks that failed the fed's stress tests, citigroup, metlife and allied financial struggled yesterday. news of stocks buybacks and possible dividend increases boosted wells fargo and key corp.

meanwhile, apple, due to unveil the new ipad in stores tomorrow, jumped nearly 4% thanks to analyst upgrades. elsewhere the s&p broke its week-long winning streak. shares of proctor & gamble dipped before the day's close. chevron shares also slipped lower at the end of the day as the price of crude traded near a one-week low. however, recent optimism about the u.s. economy helped lift the dollar to an 11-month high against the yen and a one-month high versus the euro. realtytrac said the number of americans receiving delinquency notices on their homes rose last month, while the number of foreclosures dropped. if you're thinking of using your paypal account to vote on college basketball, think again. they sent alerts to customers using the service for march madness wagers saying their account has been, quote, limited. and finally, you have heard of speed dating but how about

speed rooming. new yorkers now have a fast way to find and screen a potential roommate or renter without a commitment. coming up, the magic lose as the trade deadline looms. the lions hand out the biggest contract for a wide-receiver ever. and even president obama has the march madness bug. plus, even without the reigning mvp, the bulls slam the miami heat. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. a few spots have cooled down. but for the most part, the record heat continues, especially in the heartland. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports, last night the new york knicks shook off the surprise resignation of their head coach and snapped a six-game losing streak. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. mike dantoni has had enough. he resigned as head coach of the knicks. he just couldn't seem to get carmelo and company to mesh in new york. the knicks crushed the trailblazers by 42 last night. new york lost their coach but won the game, 121-79. no coaching controversy in the windy city.

rose sat out with a sore groin. lucas, backup point guard, had arguably the best game of his career. team high 24 against the heat. chicago had six players in double firms. bulls turned down the heat, 106-102. nba trade deadline is today. dwight howard still a member of the magic. 22 points and 12 boards against the spurs but it was not enough. tony parker has been on a tear lately to the chants of mvp. he finished with 31 points for the second straight game. san antonio won 122-111. to nfl now, the detroit lions opened their checkbook and signed calvin to an eight-year deal. the largest contract in nfl history. college hoops, vermont plays north carolina after beating lamar. the fifth time lamar is in the turnment. the fifth time vermont is in the tournament. they advance 71-59. south florida moved on.

at one point they were up 32 on cal. golden bears made it respectable in the second half but couldn't get over the hump. they'll play temple tomorrow. finally, how does your bracket stack up with the president's? he's got kentucky, missouri, ohio state and north carolina in the final four. three years ago he had the tar heels winning it all, and he was right. once again, he picked north carolina. any coincidence that the democratic convention is also in north carolina? you be the judge. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. coming up, an actress gets a baby. an actor gets an nc-17 rating, and an old film gets a new night in theaters. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, it's bad enough how many folks have lost their homes recently, but a 101-year-old woman? formally, we have the happy ending coming up for you. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." rain and a lot of it is coming down in areas of coastal oregon, coastal washington, now its spreading inland to washington state. all the moisture down in california is going to linger today, too. this is a damp day. we are dry at least today from san francisco southward for the most part, but as we go through friday night, that storm will begin to shift. actually, a new storm will begin to move in and shift down through california. we have a really strange cold weekend forecast in l.a. coming up. well, if you're watching us on khnl-nbc 8 in honolulu, hawaii,

discover fish sleep. see snails snooze and what roves around under the sea at the aquarium after dark at the waikiki aquarium. the fish swim to get oxygen, but they can sleep swim just not walk. >> i think we need to research that. >> i'll spend the next 24 hours doing that. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. charlize theron is a mom. the 36-year-old oscar-winning south african has adopted an african-american boy named jackson. elsewhere, tmz reports new orleans police issued an arrest warrant for russell brand, accused of grabbing a photographer's phone monday and throwing it through the window of a nearby law firm. lindsay lohan tweeted yesterday allegations she was in a hit-and-run the night before were, quote, a complete lie. however, reports say witnesses saw lohan in a black porsche doing a u-turn to avoid photographers grazing both the

man and his car. the man is said to be considering charges. bad news for matthew mcconnaughey. "killer joe" will definitely have an nc-17 rating for violence and sexual content when it opens this summer. finally, "the bodyguard" starring whitney houston and kevin costner will be in theaters for its 20th anniversary one night only wednesday march 28th. this comes from wdiv local 4 news in detroit where a best-selling author has come to the rescue of a 101-year-old woman. she was evicted from her home after her son fell behind on her taxes. then after the taxes were worked out, her home was declared unsafe. enter writer mitch. he stepped in and bought the foreclosed house for just $100. he then used his charity to put in $20,000 worth of renovations. that allowed the woman to return home. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

a ship yard aims to pay tribute to the triumph and tragedy of the "titanic". nearly 100 years after the infamous sinking. the city of belfast, ireland honors the birthplace of the ocean liner. the new exhibit features artifacts, models and panels to tell the story of the ship. there is even a recreation of the grand staircase for visitors looking to re-enact their own kate and leo moment. well, it is hard to get an audience with the pope unless you're a rare urban croc. it was smuggled in but will be flown back to its native country. not before it got a chance to

meet the pope. the croc was received as part of the pope's general audience in january. the return of the animal to cuba will be a sign of good relations between the two nations. finally in thailand officers get ready for a mother's worst nightmare. police underwent training to teach them how to deliver a baby in an emergency situation. participants either prepared for extreme circumstances with realistic acting rehearsing and delivering in a boat due to flood. due to heavy traffic officers say emergency births are not uncommon and the training made them feel more prepared. anything to make them feel more prepared is interesting. >> going through two of those in the last two years, i have a lot of respect for the officers. time for an early look at the stories we are following throughout the day here on nbc. in maryland, a hearing will be held for army private first class bradley manning suspected of engineering the largest leak of classified information in u.s. history in the 2010 wikileaks scandal. many hotels faced with

making improvements to their pools by today's deadline to be in compliance with the accessibility laws for handicapped people may close the pools instead to avoid possible civil penalties as much as $55,000. >> one of the last women hanged during the salem witch trials will be auctioned. it could go for as much as $35,000. 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 attorney of a mother arrested for promoting prostitution speaks out on the case. actor joel mchale will be live in studio to reveal what's in store this season for the nbc hit comedy "community." 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