this morning on "early today," off and running. president obama officially kicks off his re-election bid while speculation over a running mate for mitt romney intensifies. smash and grab. surveillance video captures a brazen store robbery in ohio. and wave of terror. dozens are feared dead after a mountain river bursts its banks dozens are feared dead after a mountain river bursts its banks in nepal. 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.

today we begin with ratcheting up the campaign. august conventions may be months away, but mitt romney is already moving on to the next phase in his race for the white house, selecting a running mate. meanwhile, president obama isn't wasting any time taking shots at his presumed republican rival. nbc's brian mooar reports. >> reporter: kicking off his re-election bid this weekend in the battleground states of ohio and virginia, president obama took off the gloves and took on mitt romney. >> i don't care how many ways you try to explain it, corporations aren't people. people are people. >> reporter: other than romney's presumptive nominee, his former rivals are helping him bring the party together. >> if you look at mitt romney, it's all about his proven track record and what he's done with his life. >> so you have endorsed him. you are endorsing him. >> as far as i'm concerned, i've endorsed him. >> reporter: and attention is turning to a possible romney running mate. florida senator marco rubio could help deliver hispanic voters. >> this president asked us to hire him four years ago on the promise that he knew how to fix this economy and that he would be different, that he would unite this country.

>> reporter: freshman senator kelly ayotte of new hampshire might help close the gap with women. >> i have, some would say, better experience than barack obama had when he was a senator and ran. >> reporter: a president whose 2012 campaign motto no longer promises hope or change. >> and we're not going back. we're moving this country forward. >> reporter: forward. that is the battle cry for a president fighting for another four years. brian mooar, nbc news, washington. elsewhere, a u.s. drone strike has killed another top al qaeda leader in yemen. officials say the missile hit fahd al quso as he stepped out of his vehicle in southern yemen. he was one of al qaeda's most senior leaders linked to several terrorist attacks. he was on the fbi's most wanted list for his role in the bombing of the "uss cole" in 2000, which killed 17 american sailors and wounded 39 others. well, after years of delay, a tentative trial date has been

set for next year for the five terror defendants charged in the september 11th attacks. an arraignment hearing was held this weekend, featuring even more delays. nbc news national investigative correspondent michael isikoff reports from cuba. >> reporter: at guantanamo bay it was a difficult day for a military judge and a painful one for the families of the 9/11 victims. accused mastermind khalid sheikh mohammed and his four co-defendants were brought into a courtroom here to be formally arraigned on charges that they plotted the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people more than a decade ago, but mohammed and his co-defendants were defiant, repeatedly refusing to answer the judge's questions or put on a headset so they could hear translations of what he had to say. one of the co-defendants, ramzi bin al shibh stood up and disrupted the proceedings, at one point shouting and suggesting that guards at guantanamo were trying to kill him, but the judge moved the case forward and agreed to hear a defense motion to delay the trial for up to a year.

meanwhile, the defense lawyers held a press conference. >> these men have endured years of inhumane treatment and torture. this serious -- this treatment has had serious long-term effects and will ultimately infect every aspect of this military commission tribunal. >> i have viewed scars on his arms and that we have reason to believe that he has been subjected to mistreatment while in the camps. >> reporter: they suggested that their clients' behavior in court was peaceful resistance to what they said was their torture by the u.s. government and an unjust military commission system. michael isikoff, nbc news, guantanamo bay. and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. in ohio surveillance video captured a thief's dramatic entrance into a store. he smashed through the front with an suv, taking out security fencing. he then crawled under the wreckage to begin his heist. but for all that trouble, the

store manager says the burglar only got away with a tv that he may have damaged on the way out. in massachusetts police say a speeding driver slammed his car full of passengers right into a building. that driver was immediately killed. rescuers had to use the jaws of life to get three passengers out who are expected to recover. witnesses say the man at the wheel was also driving erratically. and, finally, from tampa, florida, just in case you missed it, some very cool time lapse images of this weekend's super moon. >> is that armstrong? s>> saturday night's lunar spectacular brought the moon to its closest point of the year, about 4,000 miles closer to us than usual, and it made the moon appear to be about 3% brighter. and now for a look at your national and regional weather --

>> the west coast was perfect. if you wanted to see it, skies were clear the last couple of nights, fantastic show. now, one thing that doesn't happen often is tornadoes in other portions of the word. we had a horrible tornado go through japan over this past weekend. can you just see the devastation. this is video -- the individu videographer was close. it goes right over the top of the building directly across from him and blows out all the windows here so one person died, 20 injuries and 400 home has damage so as far as what we dealt with in the west, nothing like that. we didn't have any deadly tornadoes in the united states which was good. lucky so far this may. temperaturewise yesterday was just a gorgeous day, wonderful weekend and so many western states. this morning, high pressure over the top of idaho, cool air is in place from boise to billings to casper. no rain to talk about. little storm system kicking

through colorado and thankfully for once one of these will head up more toward the northern portions of british columbia than coming on shore in the northwest. beautiful, 73 degrees in seattle. oregon, one of the best spring days we've seenee a couple of 9 arizona but this is perfect. dry, sunny, nice, i think you could have done that. >> i think you could have done that coming up, european election results shake up the markets, facebook beats the drum, and elvis plus warhol equals big bucks. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, crusading superheroes smash all kinds of records this weekend at the box office.

a wild sunday, including the knicks snapping their playoff skid, and albert pujols breaks a cold streak of his own. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. voters in france have elected a new president, socialist francois hollande who opposed austerity measures. president obama called to congratulate the winner. he defeated nicolas sarkozy who many voters blamed for the nation's economic troubles. police are investigating a murder of a track worker at churchill downs, the site of saturday's kentucky derby. the body of a groom from guatemala was found yesterday in a horse barn, but police say there's nothing to indicate the death had any connection with the derby. and in san francisco a fire destroyed a four-story wooden apartment building in the city's mission district. more than 30 people were left homeless by the fire.

the actor who played goober pyle on tv for 30 years has died. george lindsey who starred as a smiling service station attendant on "the andy griffith show" and "hee haw" was 83 years old. and in nepal at least 17 were killed in flooding as a wall of water destroyed a bridge. 47 are missing and presumed dead. the flash flood hit with almost no warning. rescue teams are still searching through the debris. well, now here's an early look at one of your top health headlines on msnbc.com. a new study finds the risk of birth defects is higher with certain fertility treatments. a more complex in vitro fertilization procedure used mostly in cases of male infertility resulted in about 10% of babies being born with birth defects. that's compared to about a 6% rate for babies conceived naturally without fertility assistance. and for more information on this and other health stories, you can check out the health page at msnbc.com.

>> "early today" brought to you by vagisil wash. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 13,038 after tumbling 168 points on friday. the s&p sank 22 points. the nasdaq sank 67. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei lost 261 points, while in hong kong the hang seng shot down 549. after closing out its worst week of the year, it looks like election upsets overseas could send investors into another stormy stretch. asian markets took a beating today, while the euro plunged to a nearly five-month low in the wake of nicolas sarkozy's defeat in france. likewise in greece, voters swept aside leaders favoring strict budget reforms as a solution to that country's debt crisis, triggering new doubts about greece and the wider eurozone.

oil slipped below $97 a barrel this morning, bringing its losses over the last three trading days to about 8%. a third straight month of disappointing jobs data from the government sparked a sell-off friday, impact that will likely linger today. the average price of regular gas is down again, seven cents lower over the past two weeks to an average $3.85 a gallon. ahead of next week's ipo, facebook's ceo mark zuckerberg and other executives will meet potential investors across the country this week. also this week we'll see quarterly earnings reports from the likes of cisco, macy's, and news corp. at&t will start selling home automation and security services out of its retail stores starting with a trial this summer in dallas and atlanta. and, finally, an andy warhol painting of elvis presley dressed as a cowboy shooting from the hip is set to hit the auction block this week.

sotheby's expects it to fetch about $50 million. well, coming up, the kings sweep the blues, the knicks stay alive, and, halleluiah, an angel finally gets his wings. plus, a very bizarre moment in the l.a./denver playoff clash as the so-called nugget soccer invades the court. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. the heavy rain retracting in the ohio valley will head for all of the east coast as we go throughout tuesday. that forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports last night the lakers pushed the nuggets to the brink of playoff elimination. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning to you. playoff fever in full effect. start with a pivotal game four between the lakers and nuggets. in denver, a bit of a distraction in the second quarter. a woman walks onto the court during play. she reportedly has a history of stalking the nuggets. no one's hurt, and the game marches on. final seconds, lakers up three. kobe bryant to steve blake. that's your ball game. lakers win 92-88 to secure a 3-1 series lead. to new york, amar'e stoudemire back for game four as the knicks try to avoid being swept by the heat. final minute, game tied. carmelo anthony hits the clutch three. 41 for melo.

closing seconds, miami with the shot for the win, but dwyane wade cannot connect. knicks win it, 89-87, their first playoff victory in 11 years. miami leads the series, 3-1. to boston, mitt romney checking out the celtics and hawks. third quarter, rajon rondo fakes the behind-the-back pass and lays it in. romney likes that. celtics win, 101-79. they can polish off atlanta tomorrow night. hockey in new jersey, devils and flyers tied at two in the second. dainius zubrus nets the go-ahead goal. jersey gets a 4-2 win on martin brodeur's 40th birthday. devils go up 3-1 on the flyers. in los angeles, kings finish off the blues. final minute. blues pull off their goalie, but dustin brown takes the puck for the game-winner. the eighth seed kings win 3-1 to sweep st. louis. baseball, it finally happened for albert pujols. angels and blue jays in anaheim. pujols connecting in the fifth. his first home run as an angel. a 33-game drought was the longest of his career. pujols and the angels win, 4-3.

finally to boston, red sox and orioles in the 17th inning. red sox outfielder darnell mcdonald takes the mound. adam jones takes him out for a three-run shot. orioles up, 9-6. now it's up to the first baseman chris davis to close out the game. no problem. orioles win it in 17 innings. the first baseman turned pitcher gets the win despite going 0 for 8 at the plate. maybe it's time for a move to the bull pen. and that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. well, who's accused of going diva behind the scenes of this weekend's "saturday night live?" your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, for most, hanging out with the bomb squad would be a little stressful, but for one little boy, it's a dream come true. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." we are watching a nice chilly day. temperatures comfortable. we should have a lot of sunshine out there and it looks like we have clear skies just about everywhere out here. sunglasses are necessary. leave the umbrella at home. actually over the next couple of days we hud see a good deal of sunshine. well, if you're watching us on on kprc local 2 in houston, texas, bring your little ones for a nature story, reading in a stroller-friendly hike at tyke

hikes at at the houston and that's your "early today" event of the day. >> all right, bill. thanks so much. and now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. when it comes to big box office debuts, there's never been a bigger one than "the avengers." at just above $200 million "the avengers" notched the biggest ever opening by far, rocketing past the $169 million set by last year's final "harry potter." there's no doubt about it, at today's average ticket prices it's estimated "the avengers" sold around 25.5 million tickets. 3 million more than the previous record holder. including overseas earnings in barely a week and a half, "the avengers" have already climbed over $648 million. i guess that's the right combination. also this weekend ashton kutcher went to the kentucky derby where he and miranda lambert made up and made friends. apparently she thought he made fun of country music at a recent awards show. and, finally, tmz reports

rihanna angered "snl" boss loren michaels by skipping dress rehearsal, which basically never happened. she claims she was sick. uh-oh. hopefully she had ray note. kcr-3 in nearby calavaras county, a little boy who's been fighting a big battle against leukemia got to have a real blast. more than anything, 8-year-old evan wanted to see an explosion, and a sheriff's bomb squad was more than happy to put on a real show. that's because the make-a-wish foundation brought evan from texas to catch the big blowup and evan liked what he saw. he said, quote, explosions are cool. they are. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station.

well, the streets of prague looked more like a scene out of a horror move. over 700 makeup-clad zombies turned out for the fifth annual zombie walk. participants dressed in weird colorful costumes, many drenched in fake blood as they groaned and staggered down the city streets. organizers say the movement is often spontaneous and planned on social media sites. in england lawn mower race ing season is officially under way. machines are stripped of their blades for safety and allowed only minor modifications before being put on the course, which after weeks of heavy rain looks more like a mud pit. battling for bragging rights, competitors churned up the course with every lap, slipping and sliding their way to the finish line. and, finally, are you having a tough day? >> yes. >> always for bill. here's an idea.

participate in india's world laughter day. that's when men and women from all over the world are laughing away their worries. as they say, laughter's the best medicine, and organizers hope the day will promote friendship and brotherhood throughout laughter. around 28 laughter clubs organized the rally. that's my gift to you today, bill. a little nugget of information on how you can just -- >> because i'm so bored in life that i form a laughter group? that's what you're wishing for me today? >> only you would be able to find a way to make the laughter segment a downer. how is that possible? he always outdoes himself. well, it's time now for an early look at some of stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. in ohio a detention hearing will be held for five men accused of plotting to bomb an ohio bridge last week. authorities describe the group as anarchists angry with corporate america and the government. in washington, england's prince harry will receive the u.s. atlantic council's 2012 award for distinguished humanitarian leadership.

recognizing the foundation he began with his brother prince william that helps rehabilitate wounded servicemen and women. and on this day in 1789, the first inaugural ball was held in new york city, honoring president george washington and his wife martha. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." and finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. hear from the women at the center of the secret service scandal on what happened that night in colombia. and actress cameron diaz will be live in studio to preview her latest movie, "what to expect when you're expecting." and now 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.