it's just a blight on our market. there's always more market somewhere. i promise to try to find it for you right here on "mad money." i'm jim cramer, i will see you tomorrow! this morning on "early today," election heat. our new nbc news poll shows president obama and mitt romney locked in a tight battle for the white house. right-of-way? scary moments as a 3-year-old little boy drives his toy motorcycle into rush hour traffic. and rite of passage, naval academy pleebs finish up their first year with a time honored academy pleebs finish up their first year with a time honored tradition. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation including the pacific time zone. i'm lin berry. today we begin with neck and

neck. a new "wall street journal" poll finds president obama locked neck in neck with mitt romney. nbc's tracie potts joins us with details from washington. good morning. >> hey, lynn, good morning. a lot of new foinn ie poll. let's get to the numbers because they really do tell the story here in terms of registered voters, support for president obama, he's ahead by about 4 percentage points but that's within the margin of error of this poll, 47 to 43. the president is down two points from a month ago. mitt romney in the same place as he was in april. what about the announcement of president obama's supporting same-sex marriage did that have any impact? for the vast majority, no, 62% say the president's announcement has absolutely no effect on their vote and then the nbc/"wall street journal" poll taking a look at the economy where the candidates are, again,

virtually tied but it finds only about a third of respondings think that the economy is going to get better. that's down five points from april, down seven points from the month before. mitt romney is moving closer to his party's nomination after tuesday when he won kentucky and arkansas. the republican primaries there. he could actually go over the top. those 1144f delegates needed whn texas votes next week. he's only right now 79 delegates away from clenching the nomination. lynn? >> tracie potts in washington, thank you. there is a new warning out this morning that without action the u.s. economy could fall off a "fiscal cliff" early next year. the non-partisan congressional budget office says allowing the bush era tax cuts to expire combined with automatic spending cuts to take effect january 1st could throw the economy in a recession with the economy shrinking by 1.3%.

this is the first time the cbo has ever predicted a potential recession, but the report argues if congress and president team up and stop the automatic cuts and tax increases, growth would rise to 4.4%. four secret service employees decided to fight the dismalals over the recent prostitution scandal in colombia. this morning's "washington post" reports the employees ousted from the agency foreign gauging in inappropriate conduct with prosecutes last month ahead of a presidential visit say they are being made scapegoats for the behavior the service has long tolerated. the timing of the charge couldn't be worse for director mark sullivan, who is scheduled to testify later today before a senate committee. here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. in texas a dog napping was captured by pet store surveillance video. police say a man grabbed a puppy while a woman used her two daughters to distract the clerk.

they say that the woman drove the getaway car. police found the dog safe and sound and arrested the pair. in new york a high school student who produced a video against bullying has been suspended for five days. in the video she plays a fictional character harassed to the point of uside. she said she made the video as part of a class assignment but the superintendent says it caused a distraction. finally in maryland, students at the annapolis naval academy carried out their yearly battle against gravity and grease. 1,000 freshmen tried to conquer a 21-foot high statute covered in hard forming a human ladder to get one of their classmates to the top. finally after two hours, one student made it up, replacing a dixie cup hat with a midshipman's hat, continuing a tradition started more than 60 years ago. never gets old. now for a look at your national and regional weather here's nbc

meteorologist bill karins. he has your weather channel forecast. good morning bill. >> like chasing a greased pig. >> that would sell too. >> it works. >> good morning, everyone. we like traditions around here. the tradition of the summer heat in the southwest is in full force. we're looking at 108 yesterday, vegas hit 103, thankfully we're going to cool things off a little bit. we don't need to start this already and have it continue all summer long. temperatures in the northwest are on the cooler side and some of the cool air has sunk to the south. that stationary boundary trying to itch southward. we are watching a fast jet stream into the northwest and that's going to keep the onshore flow going and when we cool temperatures and also showery type weather, it's not going to pour but we are going to see showers out there. here's the boundary i was talking about, pushing through vegas. on the back side it's warm, on the front side is where the hot air is. still going to be hot in phoenix but not as bad as yesterday. here's a look at the rain in the northwest. the showers continue, mostly with the onshore flow we get the

enhancement in the high elevations and white showing up in the mountains. chances of snow in mt. hood and also some of the higher elevations in the cascades too. it's a cold air mass temperatures today, only in the mid to upper 50s, on and off showers portland and seattle but not going to rain all day and there's 103 today in phoenix and a little cooler, more like it in vegas, about 95. getting close to where it should be this time of year. that's a look at your natio in the west, spokane, lucky to hit 60. looks like we peaked out in the heat in the southwest, gets nicer in the days ahead. >> they need the relief. bill, thanks so much. more facebook fall-out. oil tumbles and a new winner when it comes to creepy on line auctions. your early morning business

headlines are straight ahead. brad pitt hits the cannes film festival, but all anyone wants to know is where is angie? >> indy can't keep pace with miami and the kings are crowned, heading to the stanley cup finals after a thrilling overtime win. you're watching "early today."

good morning welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. this morning for the first time egyptians are voting to pick their president. none of the 12 candidates is expected to get more than half of the votes to outrightly win the first round, making a runoff likely between the top two in june. one year later, thousands attended a memorial for the 161 people killed by the massive tornado that struck joplin, missouri. they marched through some of the city's hardest hit areas to remember family and friends who died in one of the deadliest

tornadoes in u.s. history. the 2010 u.s. census was mostly accurate but a new assessment says it missed more than 1.5 million minorities. the government report says the census under-counted blacks, hispanics, renters and young men and overcounted the total population by 36,000 people. former first lady nancy reagan is recovering from broken ribs she suffered in a fall in her los angeles home six weeks ago. mrs. reagan is 90 years old. in china, a 3-year-old little boy drove his toy motorbike right in the busy middle section unaware of the danger, luckily a police officer spotted him and led the child safely through the rush hour traffic. as we get ready for the memorial day weekend look at the world's largest outdoor swimming pool. that would be fun. located at a beach front resort in chile, over half a mile long,

holds a whopping 66 million gallons of filtered and treated saltwater and boasts the world's steepest deep end at 115 feet. like another country. here is an early look at one of your top health headlines on msnbc.com. a new study finds between 1997 and 2004, the percentage of people with diabetes who died dropped 23%. better management of diabetes, lifestyle changes and improved treatments for heart disease contributed to the decline the number of americans diagnosed with diabetes has more than tripled since 1980, that mostly due to the continuing rise in obesity. for more information on this and other stories, check out the health page at msnbc.com. "early today" health is brought to you by vagisil cream. now here is an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,502 after losing a point yesterday.

the s&p up a fraction, nasdaq fell 8. taking a look at overseas trading, in tokyo the nikkei sank 172 points. while in hong kong the hang seng dropped 252. the fall-out continues for facebook after the troubled ipo. fb shares have tumbled nearly 20% since friday and now the social network's lead underwriter morgan stanley is under fire from state and federal regulators. morgan stanley denies claims it informed only select clients of negative information about the stock. markets traded higher for much of the session, thanks to a larger than expected rise in existing home sales. that data lifted banking and housing stocks while materials were the day's biggest drag. today investors will keep an eye on a eurozone meeting over the region's debt crisis. u.s. oil futures slid to a seven month low after iran agreed to allow the u.n. to restart a

probe into its nuclear program. the white house cautioned it would judge iran's behavior, quote, based on actions not just promises or agreements. after the bell, dell slumped 6% on weak earnings, weighed down by slow pc sales. elsewhere in late trade, best buy rose on better than expected ooerngs. -- earnings. ford is one against the owner of the blue oval logo after moody's upgrade theed the automakers's debt rating. they put assets up for a line of collateral in 2006. according to the website statfinder, google's chrome is surpassed internet explorer as the most used web browser. the ronald reagan presidential foundation is threatening to sue over what is said to be a vial of the president's blood up for auction on line. the seller claims it was taken at george washington university hospital after reagan was shot in 1981. bidding tuesday topped $14,000.

in the nba playoffs, the heat get physical, and baseball's rays rely on the long ball. the phoenix coyotes claw for their lives. into stanley cup playoffs. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. the forecast across the country is looking more and more like summer. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up this is "early today." in sports, they are a record-winning road team so it was only appropriate the los angeles kings punched their ticket to the stanley cup final also on the road. here is nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. hi there, good morning it has been an incredible run for the l.a. kings. made the playoffs as an eighth seed and headed to the stanley cup finals. to phoenix, this game had a little of everything. bod ker, hits frazier into the bench. down goes fraser. kings up 3-2 in the second. when the coyotes answer. taylor pyatt throws it to the net and it goes off keith yandle's leg and in. unfortunate bounce and phoenix ties the game at three. stays that way through regulation and in overtime, jeff carter takes a shot, the rebound bounces to dustin penner, who nets the game winner.

the l.a. kings beat the coyotes 4-3 in o.t. win the series to advance to their first stanley cup finals. to miami for a physical game five between the heat and pacers. tyler hanseborough fouls dwyane wade hard. stays down for a moment, but he's fine. hansborrow given a flagrant foul. haslem returns the favor less than a minute later, hanseborough given a flagrant. i'm getting a sense these two teams don't like each other. heat up nine at the half and run away with it in the third. lebron james beautiful pass, streaking wade, miami up 16. then it's flashed with the hail mary to james, miami takes control of the series with a 115-83 win. they can advance to the finals with the win tomorrow. baseball, carlos pena not only hit a home run against the blue jays, he hit it halfway to orlando. 452 feet to be exact. chicks did the long ball, i don't know if they like this look. luke scott with pena donning the

spartan helmets. this is spartan. no, this is tem pa and the rays win 8-5. that's your look at sports on early today. i'm mario solis. one star gives emotional testimony, while another is honored by native americans. early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus they say rain is lucky on your wedding day. what about this kind of weather? you're watching "early today."

good wednesday morning. welcome back to "early today." not as hot today in the desert but still very warm, 90s, low 100s. onshore flow problems in california, that's why we've been cool along the beaches. san francisco today only 64. northwest you're just plain old chilly with the clouds and tough to get sunshine in there with showers on and off and not a lot changes tomorrow either. looking at similar forecasts, even as we go through friday in the west. if you're watching us on king 5 news seattle, washington, nearby bellingham, see sculptures that prove one person's trash is another's treasure at the art of recycli recycling. that's your pacific event of the day. >> thanks so much. here is an early look at headlines in entertainment. brad pitt disappointed media and lots of people tuesday showing up without angelina jolie at cannes. he was promoting "killing them softly" a film he produced and stars in. he explained she is preparing

for a role and said that no date has been set for their hollywood royal wedding. >> are you a long hair? >> i've never been a brad pitt long hair fan. elsewhere, a tearful usher took the stand tuesday in the custody trial of ex-wife tameka foster, denied he is an excessive partier, and he testified she once flew into a jealous rage. the tribe chairperson named johnny depp an honorary comanche. he got commended for all that eyeliner. marvel comics first openly gay hero will marry his long-time boyfriend in astonishing x-men number 51 due out june 20th. lindsay lohan preparing to play liz taylor wasn't too busy to tweet a photo of herself trying to look the part as one blog put it, she looks incredibly like lindsay lohan dressed up as elizabeth taylor. i think she looks like her, actually. this comes from ksnw

in wichita, kansas, in nearby harper, one wedding featured pictures of the happy couple that are simply amazing. hard to believe, actually. the bride and groom had just said their i dos, when they are walking down the aisles to find tornados in the sky eight miles away. quite a sight there. that created the backdrop for incredible wedding photos. not only the bride's first wedding it was her first twister. they're off on their honeymoon. let's hope it's better weather. >> that's good luck? >> it's amazing. even had the cowboy hat and then the field behind it. >> it does look like it's photo shopped. >> like steven spielberg was involved or something. >> i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today, on your nbc station.

the latest and greatest from china's young minds went on display at the robot show. the futuristic devices flew, rolled and zoomed through exhibits as enthusiasts looked on. one robot climbed up and down a wall. the creator says it can be used to navigate more dangerous areas and conduct detection work. organizers pointing out many will be helpful in real life situations. one cafe in amsterdam has a new solution for tough times. a relaxed home style meeting place where people can bring their own food. the bar offers plates, cutlery, ovens to heat up your dish in case it cooled off on the way over. owners say a good option if you want to have a night out but not spend a lot of money. apparently prince charles is

testing out new career paths. earlier this month he tried his hand at weather reporting, now he's trying out the turn table. that's right. his royal highness took a shot at deejaying while visiting in toronto. after a mini lesson he proved to be deejay material and actually won some praise from the music studio staff. he does that, you know, so eloque eloquently, like -- >> have you ever tried it? >> no. have you? >> no. >> i wouldn't say either of us have. >> in the club, lynn, bill, come up here -- >> they wouldn't even ask for our play list. for a look at other stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc, in washington, in the wake of fresh headlines that threaten to revive the scandal, a senate committee holds a hearing on the secret service prostitution incidents in columbia. secret service director mark sullivan will be on the proverbial hot seat set to deliver his first public comments since the scandal unfolded.

in new york the 25th annual fleet week begins. the event honors the u.s. navy and marine corps features a parade of ships, vessel tours and memorial day celebration and other activities throughout the week. actress joan collins turns 79. >> all day long, 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 "nightly news." here is a look at what is coming up later on the "the today show" a high school teen we reported on earlier speaking out against her suspension for making an anti-bullying video. rock and roll legend gene simmons will be live on the plaza with a surprise for one very special american hero. now, keep on it this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm lynn berry, thanks for watching "early today," your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a good one.