this morning on "early today," tornado terror, ravaging storms wreak havoc across parts of texas. game over? mitt romney sails to victory in three gop primaries. and medieval myth? new clues raise the question who was the real king arthur? captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning, i'm lynn berry. welcome to our viewers across the nation, especially the pacific time zone. today we begin with path of destruction. cleanup and what will likely be a long recovery begin for folks in dallas ft. worth.

this after yesterday's terrifying tornado outbreak spawned scenes of chaos few have ever witnessed. nbc's jay gray reports from lancaster, texas. >> reporter: texas under attack. >> hey, guys, it's throwing 18-wheelers. >> reporter: the raw power of a massive tornado playing out on live television across north texas, tractor-trailers, more than 50 feet long and 60,000 pounds, tossed hundreds of feet in the air. >> this is something i have never seen before. >> reporter: this section of tornado alley is no stranger to twisters but few have seen anything like this. multiple tornadoes tearing through the dallas ft. worth area, tossing everything in their path. >> to see it on television, you know, we saw it, you know, in the midwest and it's another thing when it comes and hits you personally. >> reporter: hours after the storms it's still hard to believe, the tractor-trailers twisted and tossed to the side, neighborhoods tattered and torn, survivors who clung to life during the storm now clinging to each other.

>> oh, my god, look at these cars, inside of this house. >> the wood from the back fence was going that way. i pulled back in, i heard a thump, turned around and here was this truck. >> reporter: many say early warnings and the graphic pictures likely saved their lives. >> after seeing on the news that the tornado was on the ground, it's been on the ground for ten minutes, i went to cover. >> reporter: this nursing home lost an entire wing but somehow not a single life. at dfw airport hundreds of flights were canceled and more than 110 planes damaged by hail. a vicious round of storms, an ominous warning as tornado season now moves into what traditionally are its most violent months. jay gray, nbc news, lancaster, texas. mitt romney took a big step closer to the general election last night, easily beating rivals ron paul and newt

gingrich in the district of columbia where rick santorum was not on the ballot. in maryland, romney sailed to victory with a double digit lead over all three contenders. in wisconsin it was a much closer race but ultimately a clean romney sweep. nbc's steve handelsman has details. >> reporter: his wins in d.c. and maryland were assumed, mitt romney's big triumph was in wisconsin, a november battleground and he aimed at barack obama. >> when you drive home and stop by the gas station, take a look at the prices and ask yourself, four more years of that? >> reporter: romney gets a big delegate haul. the primaries were winner take all. romney won all ages, men and women in wisconsin, even the tea party vote. a big loss for rick santorum. he gets few, if any, delegates but back home in pennsylvania denied it's game over. >> we have now reached the point where it's halftime, half the delegates in this process have been selected and who's ready to charge out of the locker room in pennsylvania for a strong second

half. >> reporter: president obama was throwing fall campaign fastballs, aimed at mitt romney. and the deep spending cuts he backs. >> it's laughable. >> reporter: the president will campaign on taxing millionaires more. >> i repeat what i said before, that is not class warfare, that is not class envy. that is math. >> reporter: rick santorum's math is one, one more chance, pennsylvania in three weeks. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. president obama had harsh words yesterday for the republican's latest budget plan. speaking at a lunch in washington, the president denounced the gop budget passed by the house last week as, quote, thinly veiled social darwinism and a trojan horse disguised as deficit reduction plan. the plan would cut $5.3 trillion over ten years through deep cuts in spending and entitlement programs. there is virtually no chance the

democratically controlled senate will pass it. a federal judge has lashed out to president obama's warning to the supreme court not to overturn health care reform. the judge interpreted the president's remarks about unelected judges undoing laws passed by congress through judicial activism as denying the court's right to find acts of congress unconstitutional. the judge, a reagan appointee, is involved in a separate challenge to the health care law and ordered the justices to weigh in on the matter in a three-page single spaced specific response. here's a look at other stories making news "early today" in america. in california, dozens of protesters were pepper sprayed last night at santa monica college. students could be seen rubbing their eyes from the spray. they had been trying to force their way into a meeting of the board of trustees attempting to get past campus police officers. the students are angry about proposed tuition hikes. in connecticut, frightening video as an suv plows right into a convenience store, narrowly

missing a customer. then, as the woman who barely escaped injury hopped up on to the counter, the driver threw it in reverse and just took off. police later caught up with the man behind the wheel. they arrested him and say he admitted to drunk driving. and finally, who knew the easter bunny could swim? someone dressed up as the furry holiday creature threw on scuba gear and dove into the waters off the florida keys. the rabbit's mission, leaving easter eggs on the sea floor near the national marine underwater adventurers will go hunting for those eggs coming up on easter sunday. now for a look at your national and regional weather, let's check in with meteorologist bill karins. he has more on those tornadoes. the video coming out of there? >> i don't know what was incredible, the fact that we saw 18-wheelers tossed into the air or the fact that no one died. we had no fatalities. especially when you consider how populated that area is. we had about 12 different

tornadoes. the biggest difference between those and the ones we have dealt with previously, tuscaloosa and birmingham, these tornadoes were weaker, people survived when they were hiding in their bathrooms, their tubs. we are going to see accumulating snow in portions of eastern oregon into the mountainous areas, mountainous areas to the north of boise. spokane looks like we could see the snow levels coming down to the valley floor. pretty crazy stuff that it's that chilly out there. also with the chilly air coming in, sunshine in the morning in the northwest. we city tsee the instability sh popping up. the air mass is cold enough that we get small hail, too. we'll watch that from medford northward up to oregon. the mountains dealing with a little bit of snow. we're okay today, arizona, las vegas, is looking okay. that's a lse showers in the

mt. shasta area. san diego, okay, a little cool. looks like we're done, we've had one big storm after another in the west. looks like we'll get a break towards the weekend. >> that's a good time for it to happen. coming up, internet giants squabble, airline giants flirt and barbie has a friend who's going bald. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. usually it's his looks that get people talking but this morning it's his heroics. coming up, a new look for the seahawks, the heat clinch a playoff spot and a perfect ending for the baylor lady bears. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry and here's some of your top headlines this morning. police say one goh, the suspect in the shooting spree at an oakland, california religious school, had been expelled in january for anger problems. he told police he had been teased about his poor english skills at the college. jetblue captain clayton osbon, the pilot whose meltdown triggered an emergency landing last week made his first appearance in federal court. he says he understands the charges against him for disrupting a las vegas-bound flight. a syrian government official says troops have started pulling out of some cities and headed back to their bases. syria is facing an april 10th deadline to begin a cease-fire under an international plan approved by syrian president bashar al assad. and was king arthur really a roman? experts are studying the tomb of a roman general in croatia who took soldiers to england in the

2nd century a.d. they think his exploits may have served as the basis for the king arthur stories. here's a look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 13,199 after losing 64 points yesterday, the s&p lost 5 points, the nasdaq down 6. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei sank 230 points and in hong kong, the hang seng dropped 268. all eyes will be on the latest jobs data today with reports out on private sector payroll and layoffs. the release of minutes from the fed pushed markets lower yesterday after indications the central bank is less inclined to provide more economic stimulus. troubled internet search firm yahoo! is expected to announce about 2,000 layoffs today. and facebook has filed a countersuit against yahoo! claiming it violates several facebook patents, including

photo sharing, the news feed and tagging. james murdoch stepped down as chairman of british sky broadcasting, giving up one of the biggest jobs in the murdoch media empire amidst the deepening phone hacking scandal. "the wall street journal" reports u.s. airways trying to force a merger with american airlines has been seeking support from american's creditors. the apartment vacancy rate in the first quarter fell to its lowest level in more than a decade and rents took their biggest jump in four years as more americans held off on buying homes. auto sales zoomed higher in march in part because of the rising cost of gas as consumers look for fuel efficient vehicles. burger king is going public again. the hamburger chain will relist its shares within three months. and after a viral campaign, mattel will create a friend of barbie's who is bald. it's all to help kids dealing with hair loss. the company will donate dolls to children's hospitals around the world.

coming up, the sharks chomp the stars, the heat burn the sixers and the teams of the nfl get a makeover. plus, the women at baylor celebrate a perfect season with an ncaa title. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. there will be severe weather today but nothing like what we saw yesterday, at least let's hope not. 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, the buffalo sabres kept their playoff hopes alive with a thrilling come-from-behind victory in overtime. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. we are down to the final days of the nhl season and playoff spots are going quickly. the buffalo sabres need wins. they got one last night. here we go. things didn't start well for the sabres. maple leafs jumped out to a three-goal lead and then the sabres kicked it into high gear, rallying to tie the game with less than two minutes to play. somehow, some way, jordan leopold found the puck and jammed in the rebound to force overtime. derek roy completed the comeback in o.t. the sabres are alive and kicking. they won 6-5, they're now tied with the caps for the final spot in the east. here we go to the west, the sharks picked up a much-needed win. logan couture scored the

go-ahead goal in the second. san jose beat dallas, 5-2. they moved into seventh place. the stars are now on life support. sidney crosby and the penguins are ready for the postseason. crosby scored a pair against the bruins. he now has 22 points in just 12 games since coming back from a concussion. the pens win 5-3. basketball, the heat clinched a playoff spot. if lebron keeps playing like this, they'll be hoisting a championship trophy. lebron james had 14 straight points in the fourth and finishing with a season high 41. heat beat the sixers 99-93. college hoops, if you think kentucky had a good year, you've not been watching the baylor lady bears. beat notre dame 80-61 to win the national title. brittney griner led the way with 16 points and 13 boards. baylor, the first team, men or women, to finish the season a perfect 40-0. finally they say it's not what you wear but how you wear it. for the nfl slim is in. nike and the nfl unveiled their new uniforms. it's a slim and trim jersey that

form fits the equipment. most of the unis remain the same except for the seahawks. they added an indian-inspired wing pattern with hints of neon green, because nothing says football like neon green artwork. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. "early today" sports is brought to you by just for men mustache and beard, keep your edge. another number one for madge. and who turned down a personal white house invitation? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, tv's oldest singing talent show is dominated by the young. coming up, a brand new contest dominated by seasoned veterans of life. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. we fin to wat we continue to watch what's happening in the northwest. grab the umbrella in many areas. boise to spokane, chilly, raw spring weather for you, snow at the higher elevations. as we peek towards tomorrow we'll be looking for more of the same shower activity in the northwest but it won't be as widespread. if you're watching us on kgw, bring your own basket to hunt down hidden treasure from the easter bunny himself, an eggstravaganza at the peninsula park and community center. >> bill, thank you so much.

here's an early look at this morning's headlines and entertainment. although she is now the material mom, madonna shows no signs of slowing down. the debut of her latest album, "mdna" notched her eighth number one on the billboard charts and biggest album debut of the year. >> what about "the hunger games"? >> good point. 15 years later, the 3-d version of "the titanic" opens in theaters today. british boy band one direction is saying no to the white house. >> what? >> first lady michelle obama invited them to appear at monday's easter egg roll over the weekend but the band declined due to prior commitments. we didn't even know about them a few weeks ago. >> i think someone needs to make a call. >> exactly. and finally, he may have lost out on "people's" sexiest man alive but ryan gosling is a real-life hero. "the new york observer" reports last week the actor saved a

woman from stepping in front of a speeding new york city taxi. i am foreseeing him being the next spider-man. >> does he have wings and a halo. >> yes, he does. this comes from wtvj nbc 6 in miami where in nearby ft. lauderdale you want sing your way to fame in the senior idol contest. ♪ >> and they're good! 150 contestants, all 65 and older, showed off their golden voice in their golden years. the winner won't get a trip to hollywood, california, but they will get the second best thing, they'll get a year-long pass to ride the commuter train, which stops in hollywood, florida. perfect. >> perfect. >> i'm lynn berry, this is "early today," just your first stop of the day on your nbc station.

spring has sprung in berlin. and so have some young tigers at the zoo there, pouncing out of hibernation and taking in a little sun, growing quite a bit since the four were born last august. the zoo has been preparing their newly restored outdoor enclosure. the tigers enjoyed some exercise, chasing each other and playing a little in the pool. researchers in spain have unveiled one giant find. the skull of a plant-eating dinosaur believed to have once measured up to 125 feet long and weighed as much as 80,000 pounds, the 145 million-year-old remains were found in 2005 and took paleontologists seven years to piece together.

the find is rare and the largest of its kind in europe. children in poland are keeping a holiday tradition alive, continuing in the steps of their ancestors, the kids are learning to decorate easter eggs, symbolizing new life, the eggs are adorned differently according to region, covered in embroidery like patterns or pastel string. the eggs are decorated until easter sunday and taken to a church to be blessed. do you do anything like that in the karins household. >> not like that. i'll dip one side and then the other side in another color. maybe i'll do crayons and stickers this year. >> ooh, getting crazy. now for other stories we'll be following here on nbc. in washington, president obama will sign the so-called

stock act, the bill will prevent members and employees of congress along with executive and judicial branch employees from using any nonpublic information obtained through their position for personal benefit on the stock exchange. madam tussauds will unveil a wax work model of kate middleton, the duchess of cambridge in london, new york and amsterdam. that's ahead of the first anniversary of the royal wedding. each will display a copy of a dress she wore that day. each one costs over $200,000. and maya angelou turns 84. all day long, stay on top of the developments on those stories and others as they break on msnbc. tonight, be sure to watch brian williams on "nbc nightly news." finally, here's a look at what's coming up later on this morning on the "today" show. hear a remarkable story of survival from a woman who lived through one of the fierce tornados that struck texas yesterday. and tv host ryan seacrest will be live in studio to talk about his future and his recent red carpet run-in with sasha baron cohen. 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.