let me know if you get shares. i'm jim cramer. see you tomorrow! >> this morning on "early today," mega mania. the nation's largest jackpot ever sets off a ticket buying frenzy. holy dash cam. police release video of a bizarre traffic stop in maryland. and super massive twister. nasa scientists spot a solar tornado that's fe times the size of earth. 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 lotto fever. the largest lottery prize in u.s. history keeps getting bigger. the mega millions jackpot has hit an estimated $540 million, and it is expected to rise even higher as millions of americans buy tickets ahead of tonight's drawing. nbc's kurt gregory has more. >> reporter: this single little slip of paper could mean -- >> half a billion. >> it's such an insane amount of money. >> reporter: -- a whole lot of green for a lucky winner tonight in the mega millions lottery drawing. and with still hours to go before the drawing, the record-breaking sum could climb even higher. >> buy some race cars, maybe. >> donate some to charity. >> travel. >> retire early. >> i never have to mow the grass again. >> reporter: and those half a billionaire dreams are bringing in customers across the country. >> this has been crazy all day today. very, very crazy. >> been busy, just lottery. everybody want to buy mega million, everybody want to try, you know, want to take chance. >> reporter: but chances are

slim. with odds 176 million to 1, it's more likely that you hit two holes-in-one in the same round of golf than hit it rich when those little plastic balls decide the winning number. but, for most, the smallest chance is better than none. >> i just hope i win. so i could retire. >> reporter: when it comes to claiming the biggest prize in lottery history. kurt gregory, nbc news. >> good luck to everyone. now to startling new numbers from the federal government on the growing presence of autism among u.s. children. a new study by the centers for disease control and prevention is showing a rapid rise in cases over the past decade. nbc's brian mooar has details. >> bumble. >> reporter: an ongoing study of 14 areas across the united states shows a troubling spike in autism cases. >> in 188 children has been identified with autism.

>> reporter: experts acknowledge this increase might simply be explained by better diagnoses. >> what we don't know that we should be alarmed by yet is this is truly a change in the number of children who are developing autism or whether we're recognizing it better. >> reporter: the study shows autism cases jumped 23% from 2006 to 2008 and spiked 78% when compared to 2002. the 2008 numbers show autism spectrum disorders are five times more common in boys than girls. and the largest increase? among hispanic and african-american children. older parents and premature births are suspected factors, but the cause remains a mystery. >> the prevailing scientific idea is that it's something that affects the brain development predominantly in utero. in other words, it's either genetic or an environmental

factor in utero. >> reporter: the study shows the average age of diagnosis is down to 4 years old, but experts say it's not good enough. they hope to get children diagnosed by 18 months to give them a head start on treatment. brian mooar, nbc news. >> here's a look at some other stories making news. in oklahoma, a dramatic end to a standoff. a s.w.a.t. team used a taser to take down a man who witnesses say had a gun. officers had tried repeatedly to talk him out of his apartment, next to a day-care center before firing the taser. near philadelphia, a pet store dognapping was captured on surveillance video. a woman leaned into a bin, and snatched a puppy, sneaking it into her oversized purse. police say another woman and two little girls went along for the heist. even worse, right? the dachshund is worth $900. in florida, someone broke that a bar and decided to treat himself to a cold one. the homeless man can be seen

swiping a six pack of beer. it turns out he might also be the one who busted into the tavern on st. patrick's day and poured himself a pint. probably a likely connection. but police have declared last call. they've arrested him. finally, our favorite story of the day. holy traffic stop. we can't make this stuff up. far from gotham city, batman got pulled over, his batmobile a lamborghini. only the finest. the caped crusader can be seen explaining to maryland officers why his license plate had been replaced by a batman logo. he was headed to a hospital to cheer up sick kids. good reason. so they gave him a pass and snapped some pictures with him to prove to their kids that they actually saw batman. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. >> they wanted robin to come for backup. i heard the 911 call from that stop.

what a march it's been. we've had 6 inches of rain so far this month, not including what happened since midnight in areas like seattle and portland. the high elevations have gotten probably double this amount. it's been a soaking rain. san francisco, 4 inches of rain this march. it continues this morning. it's going to rain on and off for a good portion of the day. you can see it blowing in here off the pacific. only the i hooest of elevations up here in the northern cascades are getting snow. it looks like the olympics are getting snow, too. i-5, a rainy forecast. the heaviest rain over the last 24 hours has been right where we thought it would be, northern california, southern oregon. it's become parallel to the coastline. that's continuing to bring the pacific moisture right onshore. high pressure to the south, the low pressure to the north acts as a funnel, bringing that moisture from west to east. that's why we have the flood watches up there. we saw really strong, gusty

winds yesterday. today's forecast, we continue with temperatures to the north, not that bad. it's a mild pacific air mass. that's why the snow levels are pretty high. the showery weather continues today. it looks like another storm moving in over the weekend. looking nice this week. you're the exception to the rule. weekend forecast coming up. won't like it but i'll give it to you. >> it will be the weekend. let's look at it in a positive sense. more good job news, a positive and promise from iphone makers and how you can enjoy dinner on the titanic, sort of. plus, can a follow-up tale about gods and mythical creatures knock off last weekend's box office record breaker? coming up, an nba finals

rematch. scary moment for sidney crosby and derek fisher returns to l.a. 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. the house passed a $3.5 trillion republican budget plan yesterday, largely along party lines. it would drastically change medicare and create only two income brackets. there's no chance of it passing the democratically controlled senate. congressman paul ryan of wisconsin who wrote the budget plan is expected to endorse mitt romney for president today. former president george h.w. bush gave romney his endorsement yesterday. the lawyer for andrea yates, the texas mother who drowned her five children in june 2001, has asked she be allowed a weekly two-hour pass to go to church. in a 2006 retrial, yates was found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to a

state mental hospital. but her attorney says she is ready to rejoin society and live on her own. canada will stop making pennies this year to save money. the copper-coated coins worth 1 cent actually cost 1.6 cents to produce. and nasa scientists have announced the discovery of a massive supertornado on the surface of the sun, five times bigger than planet earth. the storm has winds of 186,000 miles per hour and temperatures of over 3 million degrees fahrenheit. now here is an early look at how wall street is going to kick off the day. the dow opens at 13,145 after adding 19 points yesterday, the s&p down 2 points, the nasdaq lost 9. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei fell 31 points while in hong kong, the hang seng lost 53. today markets are set to close out what's been the best

first quarter in 14 years. the job market continues to gain strength with the lowest level of new unemployment claims in four years. crude oil prices are at six-week lows at around $103 a barrel as western nations appear ready to release oil reserves to force down prices. because of high jet fuel prices, australia's qantas airlines is raising fares again. for the second time in two months. the u.s. wants the european union to end subsidies for airbus and could go to the world trade organization for sanctions against several european countries. blackberry maker research in motion is saying it will focus on business customers as consumers move to iphones and android phones. foxconn which produces iphones and ipads for apple in china have worked out a new deal to improve conditions for workers, reducing their long hours and raising their pay. best buy is closing 50

stores and closing $800 million in operating costs to try and keep profits up. the online deals website living social has launched a take out and delivery service in 26 markets nationwide, including chicago, boston, and san francisco. and now you can dine like the passengers on the titanic. a houston restaurant offers what it calls the titanic experience, dinner for 12 for $12,000. it is a ten-course meal on dishes similar to those served to the ill-fated first class passengers the night the ship went down. it lasts four hours starting with a wine and beef appetizer and is completed with a brandy from the year 1900, which may explain that high price. coming up, the thunderstorm hits the lakers, a puck hit a penguin, and a slugfest in tokyo. plus, a monster between-the-legs slam wins the college dunk contest. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. looks like april is going to

start just like march, record heat in the midwest. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, last night in miami there was a rematch between the two teams that played last season for the nba title. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports

headlines. >> good morning. it was an nba finals rematch, but this time it was all heat. taking on the mavs in the second quarter, look at dwyane wade, calm, cool, collected, like he's playing at the local gym. soft touch off the glass, heat up seven by the break. they kept is going in the second half. wade to lebron james, finished the fast break with authority. james and chris bosh both had 19 and 9 boards. heat won it easily 106-85. now to los angeles. an emotional return for derek fisher, he received two standing ovations. that's about all laker fans had to cheer about. they dominated the second half and beat the lakers, 102-93. nhl, its been a rough year for sidney crosby battling concussions. crosby took a puck to the face against the islanders. watch closely. it got him right in the nose. rattled and bloody, he laid on the ice for about a minute before gathering himself and skating off. he did return, but it wasn't

enough. islanders beat the pens for the second time this week 5-3. no need to wait until next week for baseball. the season's already started in japan. oakland paid top dollar for cuban rookie yoenis cespedes, and the investment is paying off. his first home run in the bigs, oakland wins 4-1. the north carolina tar heels lost in the elite eight and now they lose their top three. barnes, henson and marshall have declared for the nba draft. final four is tomorrow but last night was the college dunk contest. at 5'9", james justice from martin methodist was the smallest player in the field. but nothing small about that. exploded to the rim. give him the belt. justice was served as james justice won the college dunk contest. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. another day in court for lindsay lohan. your early morning business headlines straight ahead. and thanks to science and

one company's generosity, precious memories are being saved from nature's fury. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." let me take you through your weekend forecast. it's raining this morning, many areas, northern california, oregon and washington, coastline, we're dry in southern california. getting warm in arizona. 90 today possible in phoenix. as we go through the weekend, a new storm system will come onshore. this one with a cold front could

spark a few scattered afternoon thunderstorms. it's not going to be a big deal but we'll see another slug of moisture coming on. by the time we get to sunday, scattered rain and shower activity up there from portland northward. at least we will get dry weather to the medford, eureka, redding area. if you're watching on kcra 3, sacramento, california, see photos of pioneering african-american men and women who broke areas in aviation inequality at the california museum. >> bill, thanks so much. here's an early look at this morning's headlines and entertainment. at the box office "the hunger games" will still dominate. two new films will also do well. last week's record breaker will take the top spot again. the only question is by how much. 70 million is not out of the question but hard-core fans going back for a second look could drive that total even

higher. the sequel to 2010's "clash of the titans" will rely on fan loyalty, despite not so great reviews, it should start earning back the $150 million it cost to make, taking in about 40 million. "mirror mirror," the first of two snow white movies out this year, this one stars julia roberts and lilly collins. it should earn about 20 million. >> i'm looking forward to it. can't wait. first time i ever heard of it. >> liar. finally, we do mean finally, hopefully, lindsay lohan's probation is over. yesterday the judge gave lohan credit for completing her community service. >> good job. >> she left her with one piece of simple advice, stop nightclubing, focus on your work. >> my work is nightclubing. >> oh! there you go. >> it preps me for the show. >> i should have gone into meteorology. i into you it. >> it's so much easier.

>> true. this comes from wave, wave 3 news in louisville, kentucky or nearby henryville, indiana. precious items thought to be claimed by this month's deadly tornado are being saved. priceless family photos that were ripped, muddied and otherwise mangled are being rescued by a small photography studio. the mom and pop operation is using digital technology in a race to save and restore the images electronically and they're doing it all for free. they're giving victims, of course, a picture of hope. what a great idea. >> the first time i heard about this was after the joplin tornadoes. people did facebook pages. now it's catching on, people can easily find the stuff they lost. >> it is great that they can use social media as a way to get in touch. >> if you thought you had no photos and you get a picture of your little baby, good stuff. i'm lynn berry, this is "early today," your first stop of the day on your nbc station.

there's a fluffy new addition. a 3-month-old polar bear was debuted to the public. the cub shares a father with knut. he die the last year. his sister made a confident first impression as she explored the outdoor enclosure, climbing logs and playing with sticks and looking adorable. it seems people in london aren't the only ones catching olympic fever. their animal friends are, too. penguins at the london zoo are practicing fancy diving on a brand new olympic style diving board, a reward for the zoo's accomplishments with an animal athlete program. the board is getting plenty of

use with the penguins taking the plunge. finally, a swift calf is getting extra attention for good reason. 7-week-old lilly was born with six legs and certainly stands out in the crowd at her dairy farm. that's right. those are them. the extra set is attached to the curve in her spine. it hasn't taken the spring from her step. the family hopes she remains healthy so they can join the rest of the herd in the alps in the summer months. i can't stop looking athe that picture. >> i wonder how close they are to the nuclear reactor. >> that's a little creepy. >> don drink the water. it is time for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. select theaters around the country will debut "bully," a documentary about the horrors faced by teen cruelty.

the documentary will be released unrated. on this day in 1964, the original version of the game show jeopardy premiered right here on nbc with art fleming. >> did not know that. >> happy birthday to actor/director warren beatty who turned 75. all day long stay on top of the latest developments and those stories and others as they break on msnbc. tonight, be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. a live report on how to improve your chances of winning the mega millions jackpot, now worth over $500 million. and a woman paralyze after a tragic accident at her bachelorette party will be live in studio to update her remarkable recovery. now keep it on this chan 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

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