i know. isn't that terrible? i always like to say there is a bull market somewhere. i promise to try to find it for right here on "mad money." i'm jim cramer. see you tomorr.ow this morni today," end of an era, the entertainment industry mourns television icon dick clark. mystery revealed, a retired illinois couple cashes in the final share of the mega millions jackpot. sticking point, an out of control car slams in a building in brazil and stays put. captions paid for by nbc-universal television this is "early today" for april 19, 2012. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with an american original. dick clark died of a heart attack at age 82, after a

television career spanning more than 60 years. the man once known as the nation's oldest teenager created "american bandstand" in 1956 and also started new year's rockin' eve in 1972. stephanie stanton has more on the life of this tv legend. >> reporter: the record has >> reporter: fans paid tribute to this american icon. >> new year's eve will never be the same. miss a big icon. >> words of praise from ryan seacrest who opened "american idol" by honoring clark. >> i know he's in a better place. saying "hey, let's get with the show, okay ?" you got it boss. >> reporter: he got his start as a teen on radio and he hosted "american bandstand" that hosted african american and white artists. >> he was on the cutting edge of what was new and happening now. >> reporter: in 1972, clark created new year's rocking eve and hosted the annual event

until a stroke sidelined him in 2004. in 2006 he made a return and continued to wring in the new year, up until last year, re-establishing his credentials as an american icon. stephanie stanton, nbc news, los angeles. in the wake of an ongoing secret service investigation in an prostitution scandal, three of the 11 agents accused of misconduct are out at the agency. one of the women at the center of the scandal is speaking out for the first time. tracie potts joins us from washington with more on this, tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. congress wants to know were there really 20 or 21 women involved and how old or how young were they. now more on those at no longer working for the secret service.

one agent retired, one being fired for cause. mitt romney on the radio last night. >> the right thing to do is remove people who violated the public trust. >> reporter: a 24-year-old self h described escort a fight broke out after being offered $30 instead of the $800 they agreed to. no hearings have been announced but another committee homeland security has four investigators on the case. >> if heads don't roll in a bureaucracy that has something wrong nothing will change. you'll find their heads will roll. >> reporter: nothing appears to have been compromised. sources say there were no guns,

radios, equipment or schedules in the agents' rooms. investigators are looking into possible drug use, also some of the agents that were involved have reportedly agreed to take polygraph tests. >> tracie potts, thank you. the white house is condemning newly surfaced images of soldiers posing with bodies in afghanistan. the two-year-old photos published by the l.a. times show u.s. troops with the remains of dead militants. leon panetta apologized and expressed concerns the photo could cause new violence against u.s. forces in afghanistan. the photographs were provided to the paper by an american soldier, an investigation is underway. now here is a look at other stories making news "early today" in america. in new york, someone is posing as a police officer and a woman. police say the fake cop is really a man who went in a bank, demanded a customer's wallet and stole a debit card.

on that same day, she also snuck in the private offices of a hospital, so nothing was stolen there. in dallas, a burglar tried to smash his way into a pharmacy using a giant rock. police say he hurled it at the front door over and over again, but it was made of plexiglas and wouldn't start. the would be-thief is still on the loose. in st. louis, someone vandalized a school crossing sign, altered to make it look like one of the children is carrying an assault rifle. the sign is posted at what some consider the unofficial boundry between the safer and more dangerous sides of town. public work crews plan to fix it. finally, who knew you could fit the entire olympic games in new york times square, but they

tried. they played host to volleyball, bmx bike racing and more to help usher in the 2012 summer games in london. here's cairns with your weather. >> can't believe summer is that close and olympics. >> time clock is on. >> time to make those vacation plans. good morning, everyone. it's going feel like summer in the west and set record highs as we head towards the weekend. big area of high pressure off the california coast will build overhead in the desert southwest and that's the recipe for very warm weather over the next four to five days. we'll keep the storm track up here to the north, british columbia, drag a couple of weak systems through the northwest but doesn't look like any bouts of very heavy rain. almost like this morning we got some clouds and showers in the forecast today. but nothing too bad. the reason we'll see these building temperatures is for much of the spring high pressure was pushed off the coast and we had a cool onshore breeze in many areas of california and

even southern california but as high pressure builds in and heads over nevada that's where we'll watch those warm winds coming out of the mountains, the offshore wind, even coastal areas should see a nice warm up, san diego will get very warm. if you want to talk about hot, arizona especially phoenix your first 100 degree heat. close to it on saturday. if you don't get it then you'll break 100 on sunday. first 100 degree heat of this year. forecast today, not a lot of rain in the northwest today. weak system coming through but more clouds than anything else and we're still nice and cool in san francisco today. you'll warm it up in th much of southern california and arizona, tempe one of those last cool days. about the time the southwest

joined the rest of the country. we've been sweating it out. >> we have 100 degrees. bill, thank you. coming up taco bell turns around, online payments pays off and mcdonald's takes a staple at french cuisine. demi moore is moving on from her ex, ashton kutchner and she wants her fans to help. >> another walkoff for the bruins and the penguins score ten goals. you're watching ear lui today.

good morning welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are your top headlines this morning. india says for the first time it has launched a new missile that could hit chinese cities including beijing. the rocket has a 3,000 mile range and is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. authorities in texas say a

woman has confessed to killing a mother and kidnapping her baby boy on tuesday. verna mcclain suffered a miscarriage but told her fiance they had given birth. an illinois couple collected a big check for their share of the mega millions jackpot. they have one of the three winning tickets. they will collect a lump sum payment of $158 million before taxes. a lucky driver in brazil escaped serious injury when the car flew through the air, crashed into a house and stayed there. the family was asleep just a few feet away. but they were not hurt. almost doesn't look real. a look how wall street will kick off. dow opens at 13,032 after losing 82 points yesterday. the s&p lost five points, the

nasdaq was down 11. taking a look at overseas trading. in tokyo the nikkei dropped 78 points in hong kong the hang seng gained 214. earnings before the bell will drive markets today provided no major hiccups in spain's bond auction. worries about spanish debt resurfaced wednesday as traders worried a sloppy auction could send auction rates into borrowing territory. the bigger drag was disappointing results from ibm and intel. american express reported a 7% jump in net income as customers spent and repaid more in the first quarter. kfc and taco bell parent yum brands posted a whopping 73% profit gain thanks to taco bell's rebound and strong performance overseas. after hours, mobile chip maker qualcomm sank 3%.

shrin shrin shrinksing supplies. ebay blew past wall street expectations thank to paypal and e-commerce. halliburton rose 5% on record revenue fueled by a rush to tap new oil wells in north america. the environmental protection agency is giving energy companies more time to begin using green completion equipment when they drill for natural gas. the 2015 deadline is the first federal mandate governing pollution from hydraulic fracturing or so-called fracking. new data from the labor department shows food prices are rising at a slower pace which could bring relief at the check out line. finally, mcdonald's new mcbagette launched to mixed reviews in france. some customers embraced the change, others critique the missing crunch from the crusty bread. the celtics charm the magic, the brewers walk off in extra innings, the penguins net ten

goals to avoid elimination from the stanley cup playoffs. here with morning sports headlines straight ahead. thunderstorms in the midwest a few on the strong side. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today".

good morning, if you're just waking up this is "early today."

in sports excitement last night in the stanley cup playoffs as two nhl teams staved off elimination, here is fred roggin with a early look at all the sports headlines. good morning. with their backs against the wall and facing elimination the penguins not only found a way to win, they found the back of the net ten times, make it or break it time for pittsburgh. flyers 3-2 lead, pens offense came alive. exploded for unanswered goals, that's right, seven unanswered goals. seven straight goals. jordan staal had a hat trick, pittsburgh avoided elimination with an impressive 10-3 win. game 5 is tomorrow. big lift from daniel, assist on the goal, canucks beat the kings, game 5 sunday. ottawa and rangers, overtime.

kyle turris perfect shot, behind henrik lundqvist. series tied at two apiece. snirts win it. pat summitt has stepped down as basketball coach. she was diagnosed with the onset of alzheimers. she won eight championships during her 38 year career at tennessee. nba a month ago talk about breaking up the celts. boston is guaranteed a share of the title. paul pierce, 29, career high 14 assists against the magic. final seconds, pierce with the dagger, they win it 102-98. one guess who the yankees played, the twins. justin morneau was seeing double, two home runs, four in the last six games. minnesota won it 6-5. the brewers beat the dodgers in a walk off. fly ball to center field, matt kemp made the grab. here's the throw. niger morgan beat the throw by the slimmest of margins, brewers walk off 3-2 win in 10. that is the early look at sports

on "early today" i'm fred roggin. britney spears is inching closer to the x factor. early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus well tell you about one kentucky high school senior's fairy tale night all complete with a prince charming. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." we have a weak storm system approaching and moving onshore today in the northwest. more or less cloudy skies, few showers here and there. we're watching one of the last cool days in vegas and phoenix for a while. upper 80s and low 90s because you'll be near 100 in the next four or five days in a row and tomorrow we jump to 97 in vegas. slight chance of a shower tomorrow in the northwest but not a lot of wet weather. if you're watching us in seattle, explore lost hidden and forgotten works by dr. seuss, secrets of the deep. that's your event of the day. now here's an early look at the morning headlines in entertainment. michael jackson's former british body guard launched a legal bid to prove he's the biological

father of the late singer's younger son blanket. the 32-year-old man tells the "daily star" he plans to ask the jackson family for a dna test. he claims he gave jackson a sperm donation in 2001, after the king of pop said he wanted an athletic child. with >> britney spears is close to signing a deal to be on the next season of "x-factor" there are reports of $15 million contract in the works. people magazine reports anna pacquin and steven moyer are expecting their first child. they met on the set of "true blood" in 2007 and they were married in 2010. congratulations to them. >> put your thinking caps on. demi moore is asking for suggestions on a new twitter handle from her followers. the 49-year-old actress currently uses @mrs.kutcher

but wants to change it after separating from ashton kutcher. she tweeted time for a change, any suggestions? >> better half? something spiteful. >> really? move on. >> i think move on is taken. >> bill scares me sometimes. >> this comes from wlex, 18 news in lexington, kentucky. nearby maysville, a high school student had a prom night. she asked a boy on the basketball team to be her date, he said yes, but headed off to college. she thought he forgot but he surprised her, to top it all off, her classmates voted her prom queen. i'm lynn berry this is "early today," your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station.

we're still months away from the summer games, but already an olympic record has been broken. a silver cup from the 1896 athens games went to the highest bidder for almost $900,000 in london. makes it the highest priced piece of memorabilia within an auction. winner plans to return the trophy to greece where it will be put on display. >> chefs in the netherlands are pushing a new source of protein for your diet. it's nasty. insects. students of cooking art have crafted the world's largest grasshopper pie to mark the publishing of the first dutch insect cookbook. specialists say the nutritional value is similar to that of animal meats without the environmental cost of raising livestock. gross.

finally, a fan of the atlanta braves game might have earned himself a spot on the team. after a pitch was fouled off, he reached up, stabbed the ball from the air, caught it on the rebound all of it using one hand. fellow fans at turner field went wild for the catch, the home team beat the mets 14-6. i'm sure he stuck it in the ice box soon after. >> have you ever caught a foul ball? >> no, have you? >> at a minor league game. >> you're a little kid, run and scurry under the bleachers. >> it counts, bill. time for early look at stories we'll follow throughout the day. veteran rocker ted nugent will meet with secret service today. he has to explain inflammatory comments he made to members of the nra last week about president obama's reelection bid. today is the 17th anniversary of the 1995 bombing

of the murrah federal building in oklahoma city, that claimed the lives of 168 people. president obama declared a national day of service and remembrance for victims and survivors of terrorism. happy birthday to kate hudson who turns 33. all day long, stay on top of the latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc and watch brian williams with "nightly news." here is what is coming up on "the today show." eva longoria previews "ready for love" and gives us a sneak peek of the bachelors. train will perform live in concert. keep on it 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.