this morning on "early today," heartache in the heartland. dozens of tornadoes carve a path of death and destruction across the midwest. worthy of trust? an embarrassing sex scandal threatens the reputation of the u.s. secret service. and final ride. nasa's space shuttle "discovery" goes out on top of a jumbo jet. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and very good morning morning to you. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone. i'm veronica de la cruz.

today we begin with deadly twisters. people across the midwest are dealing with the aftermath of dozens of tornadoes this weekend. one town, which got no warning of the approaching disaster, had five people killed, including three young girls. nbc's jay gray has the details from oklahoma. >> you've got debris. >> reporter: they were the images and sounds so many had feared. >> you could hear some people screaming down the road there, and you could hear stuff crashing and breaking. it sounded horrible. >> reporter: tornadoes, nearly a hundred of them, tearing across the midwest saturday and into sunday. at one time, two funnels dropping from the clouds in bouse junction, oklahoma. the violent system blasted through nebraska, iowa, and kansas, tearing away anything in its path. >> everything's gone. it's just gone. everything we worked for for all of our lives. >> reporter: in wichita, it took only seconds to dismantle a part of this manufacturing plant. >> this was a monster system. >> reporter: it was even worse in woodward, oklahoma. joe mcwerter and his daughter frantically searched for somewhere to ride out the ef-3 tornado.

>> we crawled up underneath -- we crawled up underneath here. and we stayed there, and debris was hitting our legs and stuff. >> reporter: but they were the lucky ones. five people were killed in this small town, three when a twister ripped through this mobile home park. the loss has overwhelmed this tight-knit community. adding to their grief, the knowledge that warning sirens in the city were apparently damaged during another storm early saturday and did not sound as the deadly twister moved in. >> i've thought about that ever since i found out that we lost five people. so, i would think it would have helped, yes. >> reporter: it's help the heartland now needs as the clean-up begins. jay gray, nbc news, woodward, oklahoma. president obama back in washington this morning is calling for an investigation into allegations that 11 secret service agents and 5 military personnel hired prostitutes

while in colombia for the summit of the americas. nbc's tracie potts is in washington with details. tracie, good morning. >> veronica, good morning. those service members have been confined to their quarters in colombia until the u.s. figures out what happened here. colombian police say an advanced team of secret service agents brought local prostitutes back to their hotel after preparing for president obama's arrival at the summit of the americas last thursday. 11 agents, including 2 supervisors, were sent home and placed on leave as the military announced 5 service members may have participated. president obama said he's reserving judgment, for now. >> if it turns out that some of the allegations that have been made in the press are confirmed, then, of course i'll be angry. >> reporter: in a statement, the secret service said it "demands more from its employees and these expectations are met and exceeded every day by the vast majority of our workforce."

congress will also investigate. >> my committee, we're going to look into all the details of what happened here to see whether there should be changes in procedures, to see whether or not something should have been noticed before. >> the question is, is the whole organization in need of some soul-searching, some changes, before the president, the vice president, members of the cabinet are in danger? >> reporter: there's concern whether these agents may have left themselves open to blackmail while protecting the president. now, these so-called wheels-up parties are reportedly not uncommon among agents, but as the name indicates, they typically happen after the president has left town. veronica? >> tracie potts in washington. tracie, thank you. now here's a look at some other stories making news "early today in america." in california, a student driver was at the wheel of a car that plowed into a restaurant. it had just collided with another vehicle and the force of the impact sent the car smashing through the front of the restaurant.

four people, the driver, two customers, and a waitress, were injured, at least one critically. in hawaii, massive boulders came tumbling down from a mountain, right into houses. at least two homes were seriously damaged, and nine families have been told to stay away or re-enter at their own risk. one of the boulders weighs 10 tons. there's no word yet why the giant rocks came loose from the hillside, but experts warn more boulders could come rolling down. finally, this year's crazy weather meant the reopening of a southern california ski resort. as much as 20 inches of snow fell in the past week, giving skiers and snowboarders one more chance for a very late-season trip to the slopes. but after today, the resort does say that it really is going to close for the year. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc's bill karins with the weather channel forecast. so unusual. and i think i mentioned to you earlier, in the desert, they saw temperatures in the 60s and

rain? >> it was chilly. >> and i mean, what's going on? and then 20 inches of snow in -- >> it can happen. it's late in the season for these storms like this, but you know, it's happened before, but this is probably it. now we're going to go to a more typical california desert weather pattern. things are going to warm up in a hurry. >> all right. definitely strange, thou. >> yeah, you know, this was a powerful storm. it started in califoiath , showing you with the snow, and all the tornadoes over the weekend in the middle oth e country, and now that storm is going to be responsible for 90egree heat in boston today. but as far as the northwest goes, a cool, chilly rain. your spring weather pattern continues. it looks like after a decent weekend, you're going to go back to a wet week. we had the rain that's moved in overnight now, and it looks like we're going to get another storm probably wednesday, and then another one thursday night. so, a couple chances of rain here as we go throughout this week. i think tuesday should be a decently dry day, and this afternoon, once we get rid of all this stuff. you can see the light green is all a shield of just light rain pretty much covering all of the northwest right now, from the california border with oregon northward. we're dry in san francisco, but

some clouds have moved in ahead of that cold front. high pressure should protect the desert southwest and give you pretty mild conditions, especially in arizona. temperatures this morning, nothing too bad. a little chilly around salt lake city and boise, but temperatures in the 50s along all the coastal spots there. and that will be the case today. with all the clouds and rain, it will be tough to warm you up in the northwest, but we'll get in the mid-50s because of that warmer pacific air before the front goes through. 84 in phoenix, one of the warm spots in the west. that onshore flow in l.a. and also san francisco will keep you of thisool side. upcoming week. spokane, looks pretty damp for you today, that rain heading your way. so, two more storms to go as we go throughout this week. so, after a decent weekend, the northwest is going to have a soggy week ahead. >> that's not good. i can't believe it's 90 in new

york and it's going to be 72 degrees in los angeles. huh. very, very strange, all right. >> april. wall street watches earnings, tech titans go to court, and where to ease the pain of paying uncle sam? your early-morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, were the odds once in favor of "the hunger games" at the box office this weekend? a rock 'em sock 'em game between the flyers and penguins, a triple play, and the lakers take the champs to overtime. you're watching "early today."

hey, there. very good morning to you and welcome back to "early today." i'm veronica de la cruz. here are some of your top headlines this morning. the trial of anders brav lick began in norway. he was accused in a bombing last july but today pleaded not guilty to criminal charges and said he didn't recognize the authority of the court.

more explosions and heavy gunfire in the afghan capital today as three afghan soldiers were killed. this follows yesterday's coordinated attacks in kabul, the largest in the 11 years of the afghan war. off the coast of california, three crew members were rescued after they were swept off a sailboat during a race near san francisco. one sailor died, and the search has been called off for four missing crew members. on the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the "titanic," an original ticket for the voyage sold at auction in new york for more than $56,000. a dinner menu brought in over $31,000. and the space shuttle "discovery" is being prepared for its last flight tomorrow. the retired orbiter is mounted on a jumbo jet to be flown to virginia before being delivered to the smithsonian national air and space museum. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,849 after

dipping 136 points friday. the s&p tumbled 17. the nasdaq dropped 44. taking a look at overseas trading this morning in tokyo, the nikkei sank 167 points, while in hong kong, the hang seng was down 90. after a roller coaster ride that dealt markets their worst two weeks of the year, we'll see how wall street fairs this week with a close look on earnings. quarterly reports from nearly a fifth of the s&p 500 are on deck, including big blue chips ibm, microsoft, and coca-cola. on the heels of friday's better-than-expected results from wells fargo and jpmorgan chase, more of the nation's biggest banks will be weighing in, including citigroup, goldman sachs and bank of america. investors will also be watching for march retail sales figures, which are expected to be strong. overseas this morning, asian stock markets sank as worries about spain and italy's struggling economies renewed fears of europe's debt crisis. elsewhere this week, jury selection begins in oracle's lawsuit against google.

oracle says google violated intellectual property patents related to its java software. shares of private equity firm carlisle group will be priced between $23 and $25 apiece when the company goes public in may. swedish newspapers are reporting that credit suisse bank could soon slash up to 5,000 investment banking jobs when it reports earnings this month. and beginning today, walmart is launching a disc-to-digital service to help people convert their dvds to an online movie library. finally, hopefully by now, you've heard that your taxes are due on april 17th this year. that is tomorrow. and to help soothe the sting of filing, a number of companies are offering tax day freebies, including arby's, cinnabon, and maggiemoo's ice cream. however, many companies do require that you logon to their facebook page first. give them a "like." the dodgers' triple play, the nba heats up, and the lakers beat the defending champs in

overtime. plus, a big hit in the stanley cup playoffs as the kings near a knockout punch. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. in weather, thankfully, no tornado outbreaks are in the forecast this week. you're forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

hey, there. good morning to you. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, game three of the stanley cup series between philadelphia and pittsburgh quickly turned into a grudge match. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> hi, there. good morning. the penguins began the playoffs as one of the favorites to win the stanley cup. now they're a single loss away from playing golf. game three was a throwback to the days of the broad street bullies. penguins were physical, trying to push the flyers around and the flyers pushing right back. when the dust settled after a wild first period, there were 72 minutes in penalties, and philly was up 4-2. every time pittsburgh got the momentum, the flyers would answer on the other end. they won 8-4 and will try to eliminate the pens wednesday night. the top seed in the west has also been pushed to the brink. the kings' dustin brown with a huge night, flattens henrik sedin. then in the third, pops in the rebound for the only goal in the game. kings win it, 1-0. they can knock out the canucks on wednesday.

red wings have the best regular season at home, but you can throw that out the window come playoff time. predators led from start to finish in motown. nashville wins this one, 3-2. nba carmelo anthony had to carry the knicks once again. however, this time it wasn't enough. melo scored 42 against the heat, but this game was back and forth until the end. lebron james with the finishing touches on a miami win. the heat claim the southeast title with a 93-85 win. lakers and mavericks, kobe sitting out his fifth consecutive game with a shin injury. that's no problem when pau gasol shoots like this, dialing long distance from the corner. lakers beat the champs 112-108 in o.t. and, finally, to the diamond, padres and dodgers tied at two in the ninth. two on when jesus guzman lays down a bunt. he's sure it's foul. a.j. ellis knows it's not. picks it up, fires to third for one, to second for another, and then to first for the triple play. that's an efficient way to get out of an inning. dee gordon ends the game in the bottom of the ninth. a walk-off rbi single break up the dodgers.

at 9-1, they have the best record in baseball. and that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. >> announcer: "early today" sports is brought you by new just for men autostop. gray is over. you'll never guess who's celebrating brangelina's engagement. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, find out how one little boy's sharp eyes during a trip to the zoo made him a hero. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today" on this monday morning. hope you had a wonderful weekend. rain has moved into the northwest overnight and it's raining pretty good. it's a solid shield of really light rain now from entering medford all the way through portland, up by the 5 in seattle. eventually, it will work its way toward boise and spokane. we should be dry san francisco southwards. the onshore flow keeping you cool in california. as we go to tomorrow, we could see a few isolated showers, but a decent day. tuesday in the northwest will probably be one of your better days of the week, and that's not saying much. well, if you're watching on khnl nbc 8 in honolulu, hawaii, gaze from the earth at 2,200 miles above the surface at the exhibit "science on a sphere" at the pacific museum. that's your "event of the day," veronica. >> that sounds like a good one, especially for you, right? >> want to send me to hawaii? fine. >> i'm sure you'd like to go. and now here's an early look

at this morning's headlines in entertainment news. movie-goers apparently still have a big appetite for "the hunger games." the death magic blockbuster pulled in an estimated $21.5 million in its fourth weekend, overshadowing several new releases. that raises the film's domestic total to a whopping $337 million. cha ching is right, yes. a potential scandal brewing for england's royal family. pippa middleton, prince william's sister-in-law, was photographed in paris over the weekend in a car with a group of friends. one of them brandished a gun. the photo shows pippa apparently smiling. it's not known if the weapon was real or a toy, but reports say paris police are poised to open an investigation. not your pippa. not your pippa. sorry, bill. finally, you may have heard the big news that after six kids, seven years, brad pitt and angelina jolie are engaged. well, there are several reports saying that brad's ex-wife, jennifer aniston, is actually thrilled for them, especially now that she has found happiness with her boyfriend, justin

theroux. >> what's jennifer supposed to be, upset about it? i mean, she has to put a smile forward and say congratulations, i'm happy for you. >> she's been having to put a smile on her face -- >> a long time. >> -- for a long time. >> yes. she's done a good job about it. >> she has. this now comes to us from king 5 news in washington where there's a mystery involving a newborn penguin and a boy who's eagle-eye discovery may have kept it alive. zookeepers at the . they say it could have been snatched up by a crow or a seagull. now they're looking for the young hero because they'd like to him to help name the baby. so in case you're out there and watching. i'm veronica de la cruz. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today your nbc station.

a stunning display in japan to celebrate the upcoming london olympics. england-themed sculptures were erected by sand artists from around the world at the first ever sand museum. shakespeare's stories came to life surrounded by landmarks such as big ben and parliament. royalty even made a special appearance, two replicas of queen elizabeth i and ii. amazing. one zoo in china hosted a celebration ten years in the making. a birthday party was held for the zoo's panda, yingmei, who turned 10 years old. local children were invited to sing happy birthday and feed th.

after the healthy snack, yingmei got her real tweet, a custom-made birthday cake, fit for a queen, of course. and in the philippines the living dead made thousands run for their lives. a survival-themed race simulated a global zombie takeover, where participants run a three-mile obstacle course while trying to avoid the once dead. the event was aimed at promoting fitness and exercise, and of course, teaching survival skills. you know, bill karins, should there be a flesh-eating zombie outbreak -- >> which would you do? would you want to run the race or do you want to be the zombie during the race? >> i would definitely be the zombie. >> really. you would do that. >> why not? you wouldn't? >> i've never tried it. it is time now for an early look that we're going to follow throughout the day on nbc. in washington, round 2 for roger clemens as jury selection begins in his retrial. the former pitching baseball ace is accused of lying under oath while testifying that he never used performance-enhancing drugs

during a congressional hearing in 2008. his first case ended in a mistrial. the 96th annual pulitzer prize winners are nominated. finalists in journalism, drama, letters and music, they will be announced. also, today marks the five-year anniversary since the virginia tech massacre, the deadliest shooting in u.s. history. on this day back in 2007, 23-year-old seung-hui cho killed 32 people before taking his own life. all day long, you can stay on top of the very 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's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. details on why brad pitt and angelina jolie decided that now was the right time to get engaged. and dr. oz will be live in studio to talk about how video chatting is leading to a surge in cosmetic procedures. now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and much more. i'm veronica de la cruz.

thank you so much for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a great monday.