thank you so much to the ctia internation wireless people here in new orleans. i'm jim cramer. i'll see you tomorrow. this morning on "early today, decision day. mitt romney scores primary wins in three states while the longest serving republican is ousted by a tea party rival. road hazard. a shocking video captures a hit and run. contemporary art records are and run. contemporary art records are shattered in auction. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello, good morning, i'm lynn berry. today we begin with tuesday's takeaways. >> a three-state sweep for mitt

romney was no big surprise in yesterday's primaries, but a major incumbent upset in indiana and a referendum on same-sex marriage in the south could provide some insight on the issues ahead of elections this fall. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on that, tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. no big surprise, mitt romney is 63 delegates closer to winning the nomination after picking up wins in indiana, west virginia and north carolina. of course, he's got no major challenger as he heads toward the nomination this summer. meantime, in indiana, a big upset there. senator richard lugar who has been in the senate longer than any other republican lost to state treasure remember richard mourdock who was backed by the tea party. in north carolina, north carolina became the 30th state to ban gay marriage, amendment 1 passed with what we now is 61%

of the votes in. they spent $3 million between the two sides on that campaign and then finally in wisconsin, a race we've been watching with scott walker, he has a challenger for his runoff election june 5th. milwaukee mayor tom barrett. interestingly, the two faced off two years ago when walker became governor. lynn? >> tracie potts for us in washington, thanks. on capitol hill, for once democrats and republicans agree on something. low interest rates for millions of college loans, but unfortunately they can't agree on how to pay for it. senate republicans blocked a democratic proposal that would keep interest rates at 3.4% by closing a loophole allowing stockholders to avoid payroll taxes. republicans want to keep rates down by diverting money set aside for the new health care law. without an agreement by july 1st, interest rates will double to 6.8%.

elsewhere, new details are emerging on the terror plot disrupted in yemen. for the first time the cia had an operative inside al qaeda. and it appears the u.s. was equipped to deal with the threat of a new underwear bomb. nbc's steve handelsman has the story. >> reporter: u.s. officials say the full body scanners in many u.s. and u.s. airports probably would have picked up the latest al qaeda bomb. >> i think, all things considered, yes, in high likelihood it would have been detected. >> reporter: the fbi is analyzing the device. the next version of the underwear bomb that fizzled in 2009 worn by al qaeda terrorist, umar abdulmutallab. >> they are adapting and we see just between the last underwear bomb and this one increase in the sophistication of the device they are using. >> reporter: and the cia is adapting in yemen, scoring a huge coup, sources say, in this nation where al qaeda is the most active.

>> we don't have to worry about the ied or would-be bomber. >> reporter: sources say the bomber was never a worry. cia says infiltrating al qaeda would be a breakthrough. >> this is something we have been trying to do a long time. so these sources, these methods of how we're collecting intelligence are really the crown jewels of disrupting the plots. >> reporter: the same source helped target a u.s. drone. senior officials tell nbc news that killed the head of al qaeda on sunday. administration officials are feeling good. >> since 9/11 and not one plane has been brought down by a terrorist. [ applause ] >> reporter: i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. a look at other stories making news early today in america, in colorado amazing video of a motorcyclist who survived after a car slammed right into him.

police say the car ran a red light. other views show the motorcycle rider upside down right in midair just from the force of the impact. he's had to undergo a number of surgeries in the days following the crash, but he did survive. in new york, another car plowed into a group of people in buffalo including a teenager who was sent flying. police say the driver didn't even stop. the victim is out of the hospital, and a 19-year-old accused of being behind the wheel is under arrest. in oregon, a life saved with only seconds to spare. a sheriff's deputy grabbed a suicidal man just as he was about to jump off the bridge. the deputy and his partner quickly restrained the man. they had caught up to him moments earlier after getting a report he may try and kill himself. and finally in florida, not everyone had a happy easter, like this guy. a yellow rat snake swallowed a ceramic easter egg left out for a holiday hunt. the egg could be seen bulging

from the snake's midsection. after reviewing an x-ray, a veterinarian performed surgery on the snake and it worked. the little guy is now all stitched up and ready to start slithering once again. now for a look at national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins. he has your weather channel forecast. good morning to you, bill. >> always that one egg you can't find. >> isn't it supposed to be filmed with candy? not ceramic. that's no fun. >> ah. poor kids. poor snake more like it. little stitches. another beautiful day is it und underway in the west. we cooled it off had a few locations. 46 in portland and 47 in seattle. those are some of the cooler readings we have out there. hy high pressure still in control. they continue to move up into british columbia. that front in washington state is hanging over the northern rockies and stationary boundary

over southern portions of california. back into the desert area. much of california is looking good keeping the marine layer off the coast. it looks like should have a decent amount of sunshine even early and probably perfect sunshine this afternoon. your forecast today, a nice day, look at vegas starting to heat up again, 96. salt lake city, beautiful along with boise, all areas here of the inner mountain west look nice. notice the cooler air from seattle to portland. keeping it dry, temperatures, upper 50s, low 60 month ray, california, 65. we'll take a look at the weekend forecast a little later. mother's day forecast. >> for all those moms out there

and the kids that will hopefully do something for them. mcdonald's disappoints. and for one man it paid to advertise. early morning headlines are ahead. brad pitt gets big bucks to be the main spokesperson for a woman's product. coming up five elimination games in the nba and unforgettable night for josh hamilton. you're watching "early today."

good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of the top headlines this morning. at the trial of former presidential candidate john edwards, a former speech writer testified edwards told her he knew a wealthy donor was supporting his pregnant mistress. edwards has denied knowing about the payments. a judge in chicago blocked enforcement of an eavesdropping law that could send people to jail for 15 years if they record audio of a police officer

without permission. activists challenged the law because of concerns that protesters at this month's nato summit could be jailed for using smartphones to record police responding to demonstrations. in a lavish ceremony this morning, england's queen elizabeth ii opened a new session of parliament advising lawmakers her government will seek to reduce that country's deficit and restore economic stability. and a new record has been set for a work of contemporary art at a new york auction. mark rothco's 1961 abstract painting "orange, red yellow" sold for almost $87 million. well, now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,932 after losing 76 points yesterday. the s&p shed 5 points. the nasdaq was down 11. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei dropped 136 points

while in hong kong the hang seng dipped 154. after months of watching greece struggle to stay afloat, fears of a financial disaster resurfaced. stocks suffered most of the day after a leader put the international bailout at risk saying the country is under no obligation to live up to promised austerity measures. weak same-store sales from dow component mcdonalds added to the day's cautious tone. accessoriesmaker fossil tumbled a whopping 38% after slashing forecasts. that was on weakness in europe. oil prices fell below $97 a barrel this morning in the wake of an unexpected jump in u.s. crude supplies. on the bright side, the labor department reports u.s. job postings hit a nearly four-year high in march. fueling hope for improvement in future employment reports. green mountain coffee demoted their chairman and lead director, both made

emergency stock sales after a recent price plunge despite a company ban against doing so. more fallout from the resume inaccuracy dogging yahoo!'s new ceo. the company launched an investigation and the board member who led his hiring committee says she will not seek re-election to the board. bank of america is sending notices to some 200,000 customers who may have their mortgage reduced by an average 30% thanks to a national settlement. keep an eye today on disney. after the bell the company posted impressive second quarter earnings. and congratulations to one enterprising young man from indianapolis who put his face on a billboard to find a job. well, his $300 investment did land him a job in sales and marketing. sounds like it worked out perfectly. well, the nuggets stay alive, the bulls stop the sixers and devils eliminate the bullies. a slugfest in baltimore as one texas ranger makes major league history. your "early today" sports

headlines are straight ahead. i know it's a few days away but the mother's day forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports, both pro basketball and hockey last night

was a moment of truth for several playoff teams. here is nbc's fred roggin with a look at all your sports headlines. good morning. it was elimination night in the nba and nhl playoffs by possible closeout games. we will get right to it and start in indy. the magic didn't go down without a fight, played their hearts out for three quarters. jameer nelson had 27 but it's not how you start. it's how you finish. the pacers switched gears in the fourth, outscored orlando by 20 in the quarter. indy advance 105-87. that is likely stan van gundy's last game as magic coach. the hawks live to play another game. final minutes, al horford got the friendly bounce. he led everybody with 19. bucket gave atlanta a four-point lead. celts had a chance at the buzzer, down one. rondo lost the ball. that is the game. boston didn't even get a shot off and the hawks escaped 87-86. no derrick rose, no joakim noaa. no problem for the bulls.

they got it done with the defense. held the sixers to 26 in the first half. chicago avoided elimination with the 77-69 win. in los angeles, lakers rallied from 15 down, but they couldn't get over the hump. nuggets up 3. kobe bryant's jumper off the mark. ramon sessions with another shot couldn't get it to fall. despite 43 from bryant, denver won, 102-99. the ice, devils and flyers, both teams tried to set the tone early. number of huge hits in the opening period. but this goal pretty much summed up the series for philadelphia. bryzgalov ricocheted in. devil eliminates the flyers. they have the rangers or caps in the finals. josh hamilton slugged his way in the record books. four home runs in baltimore, just the 16th player in baseball history to pull off such a feat. in perspective, more perfect games pitched than four home run games. josh hamilton single-handedly beat the orioles, 10-3.

that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. >> brought to you by touch of gray. get rid of some gray, never all. celebrities turned life savers. more trouble for john travolta. the entertainment headlines are ahead. plus, no, you are not seeing things, this may be the future. cars that drive themselves. you're watching "early today."

>> welcome back to "early today" on this wednesday morning. another beautiful day. salt lake city, 81. fine in the desert. partly cloudy skies in california and slighter cooler today than yesterday. seattle, 56, fast forward to sunday. everybody is trying to make plans and get their ideas together. mother's day, all outdoor events look great, mostly sunny conditions so treat mom. watching us on knse-nbc in san diego, explore groundbreaking moments that help shape and develop our country. that's eyes of a nation, a century of american photography at the museum of photographic arts and that's your pacific event of the day. early look at headlines in entertainment. celebrities seem to be getting caught up in the super hero spirit lately. tmz reports mila kunis helped a 50-year-old employee at her

l.a. home survive a violent seizure saturday. the 28-year-old took charge, grabbing the man's head and turning it to the side so he wouldn't choke. >> very impressive. >> she even volunteer ed to ride in the ambulance. >> good job. >> a man had a heart attack while jogging in london, he said dustin hoffman helped save his life. >> i don't know why that's funny. >> paramedics saw it happen and were concerned and stayed with the man throughout the treatment. elsewhere, a second man filed suit against john travolta making similar claims of unwanted sexual advances. he is seeking $2 million and it is represented by the same lawyer as the first masseur, travolta's legal team will sue the man after having the suit thrown out. >> stay tuned. >> yes. finally, e-news reports

brad pitt has signed a seven figure for a perfume. she went -- >> never recovered. >> a lot of us didn't. a lot of us didn't. this comes from news 3 in las vegas, nevada, where that state is driving right into the future. they issued the first license plate meant for just autonomous vehicles. it comes after google recently began test cars that can drive themselves using a laser radar to navigate. the new plates come with an infinity symbol on the left but don't plan on ordering a set any time soon, self-driving cars are not being sold at your local dealerships, at least not yet. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today." just four first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

bidders in hong kong ready their paddles for a moment in auction history. christie's will debut the largest pink diamond ever to appear at auction, showing no trace of secondary color the rare rock is expected to fetch over $8 million. just over 12 carats. the jewel titled martian pink is certainly out of this world. two unlikely dance partners take the stage in latvia. in a seductive dance duo between man and machine, i don't know if seductive is the right word, the dancer is chased, lifted and eventually tossed by his giant partner. the dance has been performed around 300 times in 40 countries. >> there we go. that is seductive. >> yes, yes sh, and

each time the choreography is tweaked depending on the size and weight of the mechanical partner. >> for one parent in turkey, crackers just are not his cup of tea. that's because he'd rather sip on an actual cup of tea. realizing that his parrot clawed at the cage whenever he served a customer tea, its owner began giving it a cup on its own. well, he's now actually happily addicted to the stuff and enjoys up to five cups a day. sounds like me and coffee. >> i couldn't do a parrot. could you ever have a parrot? >> no, because it gives everything away. >> a little creepy. >> something not right about that. they shouldn't talk. well time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. the owners of the empire state building will announce plans to replace 400 existing standard lamps with 1,200 newly designed ones using the latest l.e.d. technology. because each lamp can be controlled via computer, it will

be believe possible to create lighting effects and animations on the building's face. in maryland, a member of the flying wallenda family of stunt performers will follow in his great grandfatherer's footsteps by walking on a 300-foot-high-wire 90 feet above baltimore's inner harbor. his great grandfather completed a similar feat in 1973. singer billy joel turns 63. all day long, you can stay on top of the latest developments on those stories and others as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." finally, a look at what is coming up late this morning on the "today" show, a live report on the manhunt for suspected kidnapper on the run with two young girls. a pageant mom known as the human barbie and her daughter will be live in studio to respond to attacks by critics. now 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. your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a good one.

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