matter. i promise to find it just for you right here on "mad money." i'm jim cramer. see you tomorrow. this morning on "early today," war of words. president obama and his presumptive rivalries, mitt romney, clash over jobs and taxes. wild ride. astonished pedestrian holds on for dear life after getting in the way of a suspected shop lifter. an on air assault. things get ugly on live television during a greek political debate. hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with fiscal fever. a deal on expiring busch era tax cuts is looking increasingly unlikely as the growing divide

between democrats and republicans over how to prevent the economy from falling off a so-called fiscal cliff plays out on the campaign trail. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington on this. good morning. >> good morning. washington has yet to deal with the expiring cuts, doesn't look like congress and the president are any closer to agreeing on what to do and meantime those taxes going up at the end of the year could have a devastating effect on families and businesses already dealing with a tough economy. he's hopeful we'll see moderate growth this year but federal reserve chair ben bernanke tells lawmakers if the u.s. is approaching a fiscal cliff, the fed can help but only congress can prevent a free fall. >> i would be much more comfortable if, in fact, congress would take some of this burden from us and address those issues. >> reporter: part of that cliff, student loan rates set to double july 1st if congress doesn't act. >> don't be surprised, you know. two weeks from graduation you

look up and what, you just got hit upside the head. >> reporter: president obama called congress stubborn, republicans criticized him for courting young voters in las vegas instead of staying in washington to fix the student loan problem. >> he should be here working with us to ensure they won't double. >> there is nothing fair about a government that favors political connections over honest competition. >> reporter: meantime former president bill clinton is apologizing for appearing to side with republicans on extending tax cuts for the rich. he says, he thought action was required before the election. >> once i realized nothing had to be done until the first of the year i supported his position. >> reporter: backtracking now to support a president who's hammered by an economy that quite frankly is now taking a turn for the worse. lynn? >> tracie potts in washington, thanks so much. diplomatic efforts to end the bloodshed in syria are

failing according to the united nations and u.n. observers are -- themselves were attacked as they tried to reach the site of the latest reported massacre in syria. nbc is following that story from cairo. >> reporter: lying for the world to see. the victims of what amateur video shows as a massacre in the city of kobair. and surrounding areas. among the dead, women and children, even entire families were killed. we reached a human rights activist in syria in contact with eyewitnesses. they blamed the military and government militia. a similar attack occurred two weeks ago in the village of houla. u.n. observers on the ground tried to visit the area of the most recent massacre. they came under attack and were denied entry by the military. >> the regime sponsored violence we witnessed in hama yesterday is simply unconsciousble. >> reporter: for more than a

year the assad regime has suppressed an up rising against his rule. many fear this country is descending into civil war as opposition forces become more militarized and brazen in their attacks against government forces. kofi annan, who brokered a u.n. peace plan aimed at ending the violence, said what many on the ground already know. >> i must be frank and confirm that the plan is not being implemented. >> reporter: complicating diplomatic efforts even more is that the u.n.'s assessment if the conflict in syria drags on, not only will it implode and worsen the situation inside the country but it will explode across the entire region. nbc news, cairo. now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. newly released video from the pittsburgh police department show a gunman nearly killing three people inside a vehicle, one of them a 1-year-old infant. the 19-year-old suspect fired multiple times causing the

victims to flee, to crash into parked vehicles, before they could escape. 4 police are still looking for the teen gunman. just tragic turn of events in texas. six children watched their mother die after she was accidentally hit by her daughter with the family car. the mom had instructed her 12-year-old to pull the vehicle into the driveway of a home they were looking to buy. the daughter mistakenly hit the accelerator instead of the brake that caused her to drive over her mother right into the house. golf ball-sized hail and heavy rain combined to turn roads in colorado springs into icy rivers. the hazardous conditions not only forced emergency crews to make rescues but also created massive cleanup projects for home and business owners. finally, a northern california man is being investigated after attempting to sell two very adorable bear cubs. not a good idea. the man claims he was only trying to find a home for the two orphaned cubs after he was

forced to kill their mother in self-defense. wildlife officials now have custody of the animals. for a look at your national and regional weather here's meteorologist bill karins, he has your weather channel forecast. >> how many wrongs can be done in one story? >> the last part about it capped it off. >> i mean the first thing you want to do is sell them. you wouldn't want to call the wildlife people to come pick them up. >> say come get two bears. >> lock him up. yesterday we had some tornados that were in areas of the rockies, coming out of the colorado and wyoming and these were pretty impressive. five homes were destroyed in platte county, wyoming, train was derailed and a couple cars overturned. thankfully we didn't have any reports of any fatalities with these storms but they were very impressive nonetheless, large hail, too, with those storms. all the stormy weather yesterday was coming out of the denver area, the front range, up into the southeast corner of wyoming and a couple random storms near fargo into the dakotas. in the west, still very cool

conditions in the northwest, hot in the southwest, and this weather pattern will slowly improve but really not until sunday. today showers it is widespread in the coastal areas, you can see the rotation of the showers around the upper-level low and this will continue to be a very cool and raw day with a lot of clouds out there. now once we get to say about central coastline of oregon it begins to dry out a little bit, although the cool air still present in northern california. the warm conditions are out ahead of this cold front that are down here in the desert southwest. the forecast for your friday, another chilly day today, we'll maybe give you a few breaks of sunshine in portland and medford but still dodging the hit and miss showers during the day. medford southward dry today, hot in phoenix back to about 105. that's a look at your national morning in southern california.

your afternoons will be very nice. happy to say for the people in the pacific northwest sunday will be nice and stays nice into next week. >> thanks so much. coming up, big ben says nothing on sim lus, best buy may be in play and the highest speed limit in america. your early business headlines are straight ahead. plus who takes number one this weekend at the box office? the cute family cartoon or the dark, scary science fiction thriller? coming up, a pair of walk-offs and lebron james with a performance for the ages. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. american troops are committing suicide at a record rate of almost one per day. with 154 suicides in the first 155 days of this year, up 17% from last year.

and the pentagon statistics show suicides run about 50% higher than those killed in combat in afghanistan. a "new york times" cbs poll finds only 44% approve of the job being done by the supreme court and three quarters say the justices decisions are sometimes influenced by their personal or political views. a study found for the first time teenagers are now smoking more pot than cigarettes. 23% of high school students smoke marijuana and 18% smoke cigarettes. in scotland a man bumped by a car hung on to the hood as a woman tried to escape from a shopping center security officer. the woman has been sentenced to over four years in prison for using her car as a weapon. fortunately the man was not seriously hurt. and on live greek television a spokesman for the neo-nazi golden dawn party threw a glass of water into a woman's face and

slapped another woman during a live tv debate. a warrant for the man's arrest has been issued. now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,460 after adding 46 points yesterday but the s&p was down a fraction and the nasdaq fell 13. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo the nikkei tumbled 180 points. in hong kong the hang seng dropped 175. investors banking on speculation of futures stimulus, it dropped. weres which appointed thursday. ben bernanke said europe's debt crisis poses significant risk to the financial debt system but he stopped short of outlining any specific steps or time line for monetary stimulus. underscoring bernanke's comments fitch ratings downgraded spain's credit to triple b, two notches from junk status. that turned out to be good news for u.s. government debt prices

which snapped a three day losing streak. truck maker navistar dropped and cut its full year outlook. health insurer molina tumbled 31% after recalling its 2012 earnings guidance. on the nasdaq invidia dropped 4% after an analyst sliced the company's price target. best buy's founder and chairman resigned saying he's exploring options for his 20% ownership stake raising the possibility of a future takeover. consumer borrowing increased more slowly in april suggesting americans may be wary about the credit card spending in the wake of soft spring hiring. >> finally, the texas department of transportation announced this week the speed limit on part of a toll road being built between austin and san antonio will be 85 miles per hour. that would not only make it the highest posted speed limit in the u.s. but the second highest in the world. coming up, the brewers club the cubs. the white sox walk off.

the first for one cincinnati pitcher. plus, lebron james turns up the heat on the celtics. your early morning headlines are ahead. >> the weekend is all about summer. the heat is returning to the middle of the country. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports last night miami's fire remained lit as the heat beat the celtics. to force a game seven in the nba's eastern finals. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. the celts had a chance to knock out the heat and advance to the nba finals. lebron james wasn't going to have that. game six in boston all lebron. a one man wrecking crew. just about everything he threw up found the net. single handily beat the celts, playoff record tying 30 in the first half. miami up 13 at the break. boston never in it because lebron would not let them. he simply overwhelmed the celtics. amazing performance. finished off the playoff master piece, 45 points, 15 boards and 5 assists. love or hate him, he stepped up and carried his team when they needed him the most. the heat are headed back to miami for game seven tomorrow night after stunning the celts

98-79. tomorrow will be a busy day in sports. i'll have another will try to become the first horse since 1978 to win the triple crown. coverage of the belmont stakes begins at 5:00 eastern on nbc. then at 8:00, game five of the stanley cup finals also on nbc. a handful of great finishes around the baseball start. cincinnati, reds down one in the ninth. ryan ludwig a towering shot. to left. second home run of the game, tied it at 4. the celebration short lived. one on for michael mchenry. lined one into the gap. clint hustling from second to score the go ahead run. pirates won 5-4 in ten. off to chicago, white sox and blue jays. tied in the ninth, two down, one aboard for orlando hudson. shot up the middle and became the game-winning run. white sox avoid the sweep 4-3. up interstate 94 to milwaukee. he was a three time batting champ in japan. he's making a name for himself in the united states. pair of home runs against the cubs. second with a walk-off in the tenth. who needs prince fielder. he powered the brewers to a 4-3

win in 10. that's your early look at sports in early "today." have a great weekend. i'm fred roggin. experts predict a slug fest at the box office this weekend. your early morning today headlines are up next. plus, she's notoriously healthy and fit but like the rest of us, every once in a while the first lady gives in to temptation as well. you're watching "early today." welcome back.

let me take you through your weekend forecast. another umbrella day, on and off showers all day long and this morning. from portland through coastal sections especially, as we look into california all right after we burn off the fog in southern california, should be about 75, l.a. about 80 in downtown, las vegas about 100, phoenix 105. we have some warm weather out there. as we go through the weekend we'll slowly see weather improving in the northwest, still showers on saturday, but by the time we get to sunday, finally the rain drops disappear, temperatures will begin to at least return back to where they should be this time of year. if you're watching us on king 5 in seattle, washington, nearby bremerton, see a play with local talent, dealing with loss while celebrating new life in "rabbit hole" at the community theater. never saw that movie either. that's your pacific event of the day. >> thanks so much. here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. for the very first time this summer season at the box office, hasn't been that long, but hollywood isn't sure who will win.

>> excited about this. >> i know. i'm very curious. monday we'll find out. catapulted by a ton of advanced hype and promotion, but weighed down with an "r" rating that will limit its audience, the sci-fi spooker "prometheus." boasts state-of-the-art special effects. originally planned as a prequel from the "alien" series. did you see that? >> yes. >> evolved away from that. >> everyone did except you. >> feel like i need to watch it first. >> expected to open in the $50 million range. on the other side of the movie spec strum stands the comedy "madagascar 3" europe's most wanted. it's also expected to earn in the $50 million range but its advantages are there hasn't been a family film out for quite some time and playing in more theaters than pro metes you. it might put it over the top. do a better job at containing yourself. >> i didn't see the other two. i'm not against an my mated

movies, i think "prometheuk" will win. this comes to us from virginia where the first lady briefly stepped down from her healthy eating platform to do something very sweet for the president and her family. on her way home from a campaign rally, michelle obama made a quick stop at a pie shop with president obama's famous love for pies, she purchased two pies. one apple, the other sour cherry. tasty. apparently it was an act of self-defense, since she joked, i will be killed if i don't come out of here with a pie. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just jur first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

in singapore one fish has an unusual power. he can see the future. the psychic fish is thought to be able to predict the winner of the upcoming euro 2012 soccer tournament. after being put in the tank with three food canisters, one for poland, one for a draw and one for greece, he chose the draw. looks like there won't be a victor if you believe a fish. in china businesses are finding new uses for old spaces. underground bomb shelters built in the '60s and '70s are being repurposed for modern day needs. at the end of one labyrinth is a dance club. which owners say has the perfect atmosphere and acoustic for the bass heavy music they play. another shelter is being used as a wine cellar for a local distributor. finally in canada, one artist is being called the da vinci of dust. what started with writing wash

me on dirty cars as a boy turned into creating actual works of art on the mobile canvass. using a blow dryer he spreads dust on an oil slicked window. and then gets to work. it's pretty incredible. for his first show he created seven dirty car works for a fund-raiser in support of cystic fibrosis. i want to know what cars he uses. >> spread oil on them. >> and dust? >> do you have any art skills? >> absolutely not. do you? >> of course not. that's why we're doing this. >> finger painting. >> some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day on nbc. in new york sotheby's will preview its fine books auction set to open next week. the highlight of the collection features a rare apple one computer, one of only six of the world still known to be in working condition. it could go for as much as $180,000. in washington the semi-finals will begin in this year's competition for strings. a three-day event held every three years showcasing 30 talented players of violin, viola and cello.

the finalists were selected from over 200 applicants. former first lady barbara bush turns 87. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments and those stories and others as they break on msnbc. tonight watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on "the today show." now that she has turned in her tiara miss pennsylvania speaks out live in a "today" exclusive about what she claimed was a rigged miss usa pageant. controversial r&b super star chris brown performance live on the plaza. and now keep it on 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 great weekend.