this morning on "early today," tornado aftermath, north texas residents start cleaning up after a terrifying tornado outbreak. tragic end. the final coroner's report provides new details on whitney houston's final moments. and charles manson, chilling new photos reveal the face of an aging mass murderer. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello, and good morning. i'm lynn berry. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with picking up the pieces.

cleanup and recovery has started in texas after a string of tornadoes twisted through the dallas/ft. worth area tuesday, and we now know a powerful ef3 tornado was among those storms. several people were injured. hundreds of homes destroyed, but in the words of many, miraculously, no one was killed. nbc's jay gray has more. >> reporter: it's been a full day since the storms, and the shock is giving way to the reality of what happened here. >> i have a lump in my throat. i don't know that it's really sunk in. >> reporter: at least 13 twisters on the ground, some 160 miles an hour ripping apart more than 600 homes, including sherri enock's. >> i saw the funnel clouds coming toward the house. i was on the phone with my daughter. she said, mom, do you think you need to take cover? >> reporter: the wons grabbed little abigail and threw her across the house. another young boy was tossed across the backyard.

>> i was screaming on the phone to my daughter and said, hey, it's here and i lost my cell phone and she thought that we were were dead. >> reporter: but they survived. somehow everyone in the strike zone did. >> sirens worked. the early warnings worked and that's why i think everybody is alive today. >> reporter: alive but rattled. the emotions here as raw as the deep scars the tornadoes left behind. >> i don't know how you go on. i'm sure you will but look at this. there's not a wall. >> reporter: so many struggling to try and pick up the pieces. >> i've been trying to figure out where to start, actually. >> reporter: but then where do you begin when your life and your community has been splintered and scattered for miles. jay gray, nbc news, kennedale, texas. u.s. attorney general eric holder has responded to a federal appeals court judge that took issue with the president over the opinions he expressed about the supreme court's review of the nation's health care reform law. nbc's brian mooar joins us from washington with those details.

brian, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lynn. attorney general holder says he the justice department is responding appropriately to a demand by federal appeals court judge jerry smith who gives the justice department till noon to put in writing its position on the powers of court to strike down laws. that is, of course, a direct response to something president obama said on monday. he said if the supreme court strikes down his health care law, it would be unprecedented extraordinary. in fact, the high court has done that at least 169 times in its history. president obama says that he is going to dial back his rhetoric somewhat, judge smith is not. and some conservatives are a little uneasy with that. lynn? >> brian mooar for us in washington. thank you. well, the final coroner's report is providing new details this morning on whitney houston's death last february. houston drowned accidentally in about a foot of very hot water

in a bathtub in a beverly hills hotel. due to the effects of cocaine and heart disease. the report says she had cocaine in her system and a white powder nearby. detectives also found a rolled up piece of paper, a small spoon and a mirror, all items commonly used with cocaine. the report revealed that houston had a perforated nose filled with a bloody discharge indicating substance abuse. >> now here's an early look at some of your top headlines in america. newly released surveillance video shows a former colorado sheriff caught offering drugs in exchange for sex. pat sullivan can be seen tossing a bag of methamphetamine to an undercover agent. moments later officers busted and arrested sullivan who pleaded guilty this week to drug possession and solicitation charges. in pennsylvania a historic multimillion dollar mansion went up in flames wednesday. smoke could be seen for miles as the home, built more than 100

years ago with 19 bedrooms burned. people living inside did get out okay. in new york the royal couple has been waxed. prince william and kate, the duchess of cambridge, are the newest models on display at madame tussauds. it took a team of artists more than four months to capture their likeness. i think they did a great job. it come week as head of their first wedding anniversary. and finally they could have used some of these on "sex and the city." new vending machines are going to allow ladies to buy an emergency pair of flat shoes. the price isn't going to knock you off your feet, just 20 bucs. probably less than the cocktails. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins. he has your weather channel forecast. >> bring the shoes rolled up in your purse. >> our purses are about this big.

have you been out lately, bill? no, no, you haven't. >> i haven't. only in my mine. good morning, everyone. we're watching cold weather in many areas of the northwest, a snowstorm for central monta. snow showers in areas of oregon this morning. medford down to 36 degrees. we'd like the switch to turn on to the warm switch, if you will, the fan or the heater. right now we're continuing watching spring temperatures that are struggling below normal in many areas. the little snowstorm -- i moouldn't say little. winter storm warnings in central portions of montana will plague you during the day into tonight. a low over near areas of spokane. it's bringing you into areas of seattle southward. that's bringing instability, showers, not a lot of snow on map out there. salem has rain showers, portland, you've been dry lately but rain showers approaching. the higher elevations scattered snow showers. as far as the snow goes, central idaho into central montana,

possibly 6 to 12 inches there, some of the higher elevations. boise, you like like you're just fine. temperature 49. notice how cool it stays today during the day today in the northwest. even chilly san francisco to skies. tucson, one of the warmer spots in the west. still holding out hope for the weekend, lynn. >> let's keep doing that. bill, thanks. stocks tumble, the dollar jumps and the economic solution based on pizza. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, a report that some of "saturday night live's" favorites won't be returning. coming up, opening night in baseball, a possible nba finals preview and a track meet turns into a dance party. 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. four american soldiers are among the dead after a taliban bombing in northern afghanistan. police say at least ten people died when a suicide bomber on a motorcycle detonated his explosives. secretary of state hillary clinton says the u.s. is ready to nominate an ambassador to myanmar and to ease sanctions. she said parliamentary elections there represent real change after decades of military rule. five former new orleans police officers have been sentenced to prison for their part in the deadly shootings of residents on a bridge in the aftermath of hurricane katrina. the officers will spend up to 65 years in prison for the shootings and conspiring to cover up their actions. billy payne, the chairman of

the augusta national golf club in georgia, home of the masters tournament, refused to answer questions yesterday about its all-male membership. it's being scrutinized because one of its three tournament sponsor, ibm, recently appointed a female ceo. the past four male ceos have all received member invitations. and two new photos of convicted killer charles manson have been released by california prison officials. showing him there with long gray hair and a beard. manson is scheduled for his 12th parole hearing next week. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. dow opens at 13,074 after tumbling 124 points yesterday. the s&p fell 14 points, the nasdaq plunged 45. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, today in tokyo the nikkei was down 52 while in hong kong the hang seng lost 197. for only the second time

this year the dow recorded a triple-digit drop wednesday as european debt worries flared up once again. a disappointing auction of government debt in spain signaled investor confidence in that country's finances is weakening. in reaction, european markets suffered broad losses. the euro fell to its lowest point against the dollar in more than two weeks as investors looking for safe places to park money looked to the dollar and u.s. treasuries. with the dollar gaining the price of gold plunged to its lowest level since january. the dollar's climb also sent crude oil falling down to its lowest level since mid-february. bank stocks which typically drop on european debt news fell sharply. citigroup, morgan stanley and bank of america all lost more than 3%. elsewhere ahead of the weekly jobs report, yesterday data from adp showed factories and other private sector companies added 209,000 jobs in march.

the final sale of private shares of facebook set a record at $43.50. heading into the company's ipo that values facebook at about $109 billion. directv subscribers in 19 u.s. markets can see tribune broadcasting channels again now that the two companies have worked out a new five-year deal. and an 11-year-old dutch boy created a solution for the eurozone's debt crisis. he won a special mention in economic competition for his idea for a money exchange machine to deal with the debt in greece. the boy said his plan was inspired by pizza because it was easy to divide into pieces. if only it was that easy. well, the marlins play their opener. the heat rally past the thunder and a professional basketball player scores way more than 100 in one game. plus a high school sprinter in hawaii who stumbled with style.

your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. >> i've seen lynn do the worm before. it's good. in the weather world all eyes on the southeast with strong thunderstorms. 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 wednesday the

cardinals managed to spoil the marlins' opening of their new ballpark. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. the miami marlins have a new name, new players, a new look and a new ballpark. unfortunately, they opened the season with the same old results. there's the new crown jewel. the state-of-the-art, $634 million marlins park. no better way to christen it without muhammad ali. the world series champs knocked out the marlins. david freese, cardinals up 2-0 after one. kyle lohse had a no-hitter going through six, and the cards won it, 4-1. it's all right, miami, you still have the heat and they took care of the best in the west, the oklahoma city thunder. it was a matchup of possible mvps, kevin durant and lebron james. durant had it going early, finishing with 30. lebron had it going all game long, 34 points and 10 assists. they haven't lost at home in three months and won this one, 98-93.

did you know who mohammed el akkari is? a 27-year-old guard who plays professional basketball in lebanon. he attempted 69 shots in a game, 59 of them three-pointers, yes, he hogged the ball. but nobody complained because he scored 113 points. and finally to hawaii for a memorable finish in high school track. keep your eye on the runner in the green tank top on the right. down the home stretch they come. uh-oh, no, he fell flat on his face but no worries went right into the worm. the crowd was loving it. you talk about making the best of a bad situation, with those kind of moves, he should have no problem getting a date for the prom. 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, keeping your edge. a tv reunion and the movie star who wants to give away more than 1,000 acres.

your early morning entertainment headlines just ahead. plus, flight attendants have many responsibilities. we'll introduce you to one who went way beyond the call of duty. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." we're looking at dry areas in areas of the southwest. oregon and washington state still feels like late winter, early spring.

even the city is only getting into the upper 40s, low 50s today. rain showers especially this morning in portland. tomorrow doesn't look much different. we're stuck in a rut. if you're watching us on kntv, nbc 11 in california's bay area, oakland museum in the san francisco bay area at all of us or none at the oakland museum. here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. could another era be ending on "saturday night live." sources tell "us weekly" christian and jason sudaikis plan to leave at the end of the season. bill is upset about that. "entertainment weekly" reports "the '70s show" reunion will include ashton kutcher and mila kunis. all the originals. gary sinise canceled

appearances with his lieutenant dan band after a car accident. tmz reports nic cage took a big step toward squaring his tax bill with uncle sam. payment just over $6 million. cage blames a business manager for tax problems over the last decade and still owes around $7 million. finally, his idaho mansion is on the market and so is his local bar and nightclub. quite a businessman in idaho. now bruce willis is saying he's willing to give away his 1,100-acre ski resort to the right nonprofit group. >> how well has nicolas cage done, if you owe $7 million in taxes you must have made 60 million, 70 million? >> all the movies he made his face is on fire.

what is that one, "ghost rider"? >> the comic book one. >> yes. everyone is laughing at me. that's okay. news channel 8 in tampa, florida, a flight attendance is just back from a trip where she wound up with one more passenger than she left with. she helped deliver a baby. 36,000 feet over africa, a first in her 29 years on the job. she called for a flashlight and all the gloves she could get. an ob/gyn was also on board. when the child was delivered the flight attendant raise the baby up and announced to the cabin it's a boy. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today." just your first stop of the day today on your nbc stations.

a german gardner will have east every -- easter egg hunter jaws dropping. for 50 years, the craft family has decked their tree with 10,000 easter eggs. visitors travel from near and far to view the ornaments and can purchase a decorated egg for themselves. although the tree has reached capacity, the family does hope to keep the tradition alive for generations to come. zoo keepers in scotland are playing matchmaker with two giant pandas. the two 8-year-old animals are being encouraged to mate for the very first time, a feat that may not prove so simple as female giant pandas are fertile for only two to three days a year.

well, keepers have opened a love tunnel between the pair's enclosures and turned off the online panda cam in hopes that privacy will set the mood. go with it, bill. finally, would you pay millions for this? a simple small bowl fetched over $26 million at auction in china. that's right. it's the ultimate don't judge a book by its cover. the bowl is 900 years old. it's considered one of the most sophisticated achievements in chinese ceramics created in the famous kiln from the song dynasty. it's one of only five privately owned pieces from the collection. dig into your cup board, maybe you have a $26 million bowl that looks like a cereal bowl. >> i could give that to you and you'd be like thanks a lot for the gift, bill. >> i would love that. thanks so much, bill.

the new orleans saints head coach sean payton along with the team's assistant coach and general manager will have appeal hearings in new york for punishment handed out over the team's bounty system for targeting opposing players. a spokesperson for the league confirmed the team's defensive coordinator, greg william, did not appeal his indefinite suspension. adam west best known for playing batman will receive a star on hollywood's walk of fame. the batmobile will be at the ceremony. former secretary of state general colin powell turns 75. all day you can stay on top of the latest developments and thor stories and others as they break on msnbc. tonight watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." finally here's a look at what's coming up later on the "today" show. new details of mistakes made by the captain of the "costa concordia," and nadya suleman, infamously known as octomom defends herself to matt for going on welfare after promising she never would. 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, to