sharing the stage, hillary clinton and the vice president complimented each other. >> there's no woman like hillary clinton. hillary clinton, that's a fact. >> reporter: vice president biden and i have worked together on so many important issues. >> reporter: but their mere presence together, her first since stepping down as secretary of state is fueling questions about whether either may run for president in 2016. >> more than anyone in the united states, it's joe biden who's waiting to see what hillary clinton's going to do because if she gets in, it's going to be very difficult for him to make the race. >> reporter: both can draw big cash, but clinton has two things biden doesn't, higher favorability rating, 67% to 48%. in january's "washington post" poll and a new political action committee. >> 2016. >> hillary! >> supporters rallied outside the event. their website went live tuesday.

>> politics is always an open competition, but i have no position on any of this. >> reporter: that was january. but the woman clinton honored at tuesday's vital voices global leadership awards thinks she'd make a good candidate. >> i think she can do whatever she sets her mind to doing. >> reporter: side by side for now, but perhaps rivals in 2016. and all the talk here in d.c. especially again today, one question is going to be what happens in the 2016 primary if both decide to run? who might president obama endorse? he's got a few years to think about it. richard? >> that's right. america loves a good race. thank you, tracie potts. south korean officials say some 800 citizens trapped in north korea are being allowed to return home. this after pyongyang stepped up pressure on the south by closing access to a joint industrial park near the border. on tuesday secretary of state john kerry announced he'll travel to seoul next week. after kim jong-un's latest power play. nbc's richard engel is in seoul.

>> reporter: kim jong-un undid years of diplomacy vowing to reopen the yongbyon nuclear reactor, capable of producing enough plutonium to make a nuclear bomb a year. north korea closed it in 2007, even destroying a cooling tower. to show its commitment to a now shattered deal with the u.s. >> if they restart their nuclear facility, yongbyon, that is in direct violation of their international obligations and would be a very serious step. >> reporter: but kim jong-un shows no sign that he's even listening to the outside world. it would be a mistake to dismiss kim as a mere boy emperor stomping his feet. >> people think north korea is unpredictable. it's very predictable. it's power driven. exploit weaknesses. intolerant, uncompromising type

of view. >> reporter: north korea lives on this philosophy and not much else. it's desperately poor. famine ravages the countryside. the capital is a modern-looking city of more than 3 million. but look closer. fly over pyongyang using google earth, and you see city streets virtually empty, hardly any cars. and yet north korea maintains the world's fourth largest military. >> that was nbc's richard engel on the korean peninsula for us. outrage over what many are calling an abusive basketball coach at rutgers university. a video that aired on espn showing coach mike rice using gay slurs during practice with players. [ bleep ] [ bleep ] >> he also threw basketballs at the players and grabbed them. the rutgers athletic director said the video was the reason the new jersey school suspended rice in december for three games and fined him $50,000.

>> i talked to everybody in the program. we looked at hundreds hours of practice film. needless to say there was a lot of behavior that was unacceptable. >> rutgers said it will reconsider its decision to retain rice as the basketball coach. a spokesman for new jersey governor chris christie said it's not the type of leadership we should be showing our young people. nba superstar lebron james tweeting, quote, if my son played for rutgers or a coach like that, he would have some real explaining to do, and i'm still going to whoop on him afterwards. come on. as we go to nbc meteorologist bill karins for our forecast. that was quite a story. also this tornado out of texas. >> haven't seen that a lot this year. >> yeah, and we're here in april. the massive funnel cloud touching down on april 1st. no april fools' joke there. storm chasers saying the twister was on the ground for about five minutes fortunately in a remote area. nevertheless, quite incredible. >> the beginning of the season,

march was very quiet. april and may are our biggest tornado months. so far knock on whatever you can. >> plexiglas. >> yeah, plexiglas. a big storm out in the pacific. it's going to move in on the west and ruin our great period of weather and mild conditions we've been having. enjoy it while it lasts. we have one more day where high pressure protects us. then we'll start to see more clouds increasing. i think the rain really holds off until later on tonight and then during the day tomorrow. so this expected rainfall is more for late tonight and then during the day tomorrow. looks like mostly from san francisco northwards up the west coast, we should be dry in southern california, much of nevada and also there in arizona. your forecast for today, as i said, nice, mild, beautiful day. and for springtime, temperatures in many areas in the 60s. look at phoenix, of the hottest

spots in the country today, 92. tried to break down the timing of when the rain's going to arrive in your area. >> thanks for that. music mogul jay-z owns a piece of the nets, but now he owns a key piece of the bombers as well. plus brazen burglars blast open this atm, lifting criminals cash for smash to a whole new level. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. here are some other stories making news this morning. former south african president nelson mandela remains in the hospital with fluid building on his lungs. the government insists his health is improving. 15 months after resigning in disgrace former south carolina governor mark sanford has won a runoff to reclaim his old congressional seat. he beat charleston city councilman curtis bostick. sanford now faces a democrat in the may 7th special election. the parolee suspected of

killing the colorado prisons chief apparently slipped out of his ankle monitoring bracelet before the shooting. it took five days for officials to realize he fled. a new photo this morning of sandy hook gunman andy lanza. part of an array of records released by western connecticut university where lanza took classes in 2008 and 2009. the school revealed lanza refused to give his gender on an exam and denied having a documented disabling condition even though his mother told people he suffered from asperger's disease. an autopsy reveals accidental carbon monoxide poisoning in what killed shane gandee and two others. he was found dead in his truck monday along with his uncle and a friend. dramatic video out of england where an atm is caught on surveillance video, blowing up. thieves detonated the machine and made off with an undisclosed amount of cash. no one was hurt. the station manager saying they're lucky the whole station

didn't blow up. to health news. president obama unveiled a $100 million initiative to study the inner workings of the brain. >> we have a chance to improve the lives of not just millions but billions of people on this planet through the research that's done in this brain initiative alone. >> the project will look for better ways to treat epilepsy, alzheimer and autism. it's a fraction of the cost of the human genome project which totaled over $3 billion. "early today" health is brought to you by vagisil. bring yourself back. here's your first look at what's moving your money today. cnbc's bertha coombs has our update. bertha, good morning. >> good morning, richard. stocks posted decent gains on tuesday. the dow and s&p 500 closing at new all-time highs. investors get data today on private sector jobs and the services sector. the obama administration is pushing banks to make more mortgages available to people with weaker credit. "the washington post" reports

critics say the move could lead to the same risky lending that caused the housing crisis. and #earnings. the s.e.c. will now let companies make major announcements on facebook and twitter that could move their stock. current rules require all investors to receive significant news at the same time. from cnbc's global headquarters, i'm bertha coombs. back to you. now to business where a couple of recalls. subaru is recalling more than 200,000 legacy and outback models from 2005 to 2009. for possible corrosion in brake lines. to a tyson recall of 127,000 pounds of uncooked breaded chicken tenderloins because they are not labeled as containing soy which is an allergen. rapper and recording mogul jay-z adds a new title. sports agent. beyonce's husband signed new york yankees second baseman cano. he's teaming up with sports to form rock nation sports. billionaire investor carl icahn snapped up a stake in

nuance communications between dragon software and siri. straight ahead, atlanta teachers were cheating their students in favor of fat payday bonuses and now are surrendering to police. details next.

now to some other stories that caught our eye this morning. we begin in florida with a video of the deadly sinkhole that

swallowed a man as he slept in his home. last february when jeff bush's bedroom floor collapsed into the crater. rescue crews searched for the 28-year-old but was unable to find his body. now to new orleans prison fire with violence and drug abuse much of which was caught on camera. officials released shocking video of inmates gambling, drinking beer and waving a loaded handgun. all while behind prison walls. the footage surfaced at a federal hearing to determine funding for proposed facility improvements. finally we go to atlanta where the first crop of 35 indicted educators surrendered to authorities. the public school system has been rocked by allegations of teachers involving themselves in cheating on standardized tests as well as racketeering and making false statements. theft and more. investigators charged former superintendent beverly hall with heading the corrupt operation that led to a 65-count indictment. she faces 40 years in prison if convicted on the charges against her. now to sports. a dramatic near-miss for an

historic perfect game. yu darvish struck out 14 astros, an electrifying start. the rangers have had five no-hitters in their history, and he was looking to add to that until the ninth inning. >> yu darvish looking for number six and the second perfect game. gonzalez up the middle, base hit! gonzalez right back. >> so close. darvish threw his hands up after the ball just went between the glove and his legs. he left the game but the rangers got the 7-0 win there. in women's college basketball number one seed notre dame beat duke to move on and face connecticut in sunday's final four. another upset to tell you about, for five seed louisville to advance to the final four after beating baylor, the cardinals knocked off two seed tennessee

86-78. they face california on sunday. baylor superstar britney griner could get a chance to play against men in the nba. mark cuban says he just might take her in the nba draft and added that would sell out a few games. nba legend shaquille o'neal was in los angeles as the lakers retired his number 34. former teammates and lakers fans applauded that honor. mick jagger, meatloaf, bieber's monkey and angelina jolie. plus halle berry's not-so-happy hawaii homecoming when she meets an overzealous paparazzi next.

so in the west the rain is on the way. let me give you a breakdown of the timing. looking okay today. the white shows the clouds. the rain in green. the steadier rain in the oranges and yellows. this is thursday morning. tomorrow morning at this time we could see some of that rain near san francisco. and off the california coastline. then as we go through thursday afternoon and evening, it spreads up the coast of oregon into the northwest. a lot of that should be gone by the time we get to friday. again, the rain timing is for thursday. we're looking okay today and the west, it's the last nice dry day. >> a little shower to deal with. >> we've got to water the lawn. to entertainment. the rolling stones have been using the #startmeupwednesday about their u.s. tour to be announced today. on the flipside, meatloaf announcing he's done with the tour concert. >> i didn't know he was still

touring. >> i didn't either, but evidently he's saying because he outweighs mick jagger by about 100 pounds and seen more wear and tear, he's going to take a break. cyndi lauper and justin timberlake helping michelle obama celebrate memphis music. it's part of the performance at the white house. justin bieber has four weeks to file paperwork and claim his pet monkey from a german animal shelter before it's given a new home. angelina jolie has opened up another girls school in afghanistan. she plans to fund more schools using proceeds from her new jewelry line which goes on sale tomorrow. ellen thrilling fans by instagraming "it's official" next to a poster for the newly announced "finding nemo" sequel, "finding dory" slated for fall 2015. we've got to wait two years. takes a long time to draw that stuff. halle berry had to restrain fiance olivier martinez after an

aultder indication with paparazzi outside l.a.x. monday night. he was carrying daughter nala and reportedly lashed out as a photographer for getting too close. always tough. i'm richard lui, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

in "politico," corporations getting cold feet on tax reform as d.c. finally gets serious about fixing our tax system, it looks like the captains of industry are now backpedaling.

u.s. struggling to contain nuclear threats from north korea, iran. despite four years of diplomacy, the isolated nations remain resistant to stand down on their nuclear programs. when you're hundreds of stories above manhattan, the view can't be too shabby. one world trade center is still under construction, but the new york port authority revealed a picture. the 100th florida is set to open in 2015. rudy salita loves to take rides on his bike. what's really unusual is who he likes to take with him. 1-month-old m.j. loved long bike rides perched on his owner's shoulders. and with cat cuddling up to his neck, not scared of moving in the streets either. look at him. didn't even fall down. the inseparable duo zipped through every part of the city, grabbing some much needed fresh air and seeing the sights by city hall or cruising through old city. these two are quite the pair.

>> he needs a cat helmet. bubba watson seems to have a lot of free time on his hands. bubba's hover, an impressive hovercraft/golf cart hybrid, he won't need roads. it's a serious upgrade but comes with a hefty price. similar models online sell between $20,000 and $60,000. if i'm on one of those old-school cars, i'm jealous. >> i don't even want to win, like, the super lotto. i just want to do that. >> i wouldn't mind being in the top 100, my friend. time for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. the first cell phone call was made 40 years ago in 1973. bill was there to make it. martin cooper reenacted that call. look at that phone. it weighs 2 1/2 pounds and can only be used for 20 minutes before the battery died. today is the beginning of the

brief peak season for the famed cherry blossoms in washington, d.c. about 70% of the blossoms on the cherry trees around the tidal basin should be in full bloom through saturday. happy birthday to doris day, alec baldwin, 55 and eddie murphy at 52. here's what's coming up on "today." an intimate look inside audrey hepburn. her son talks about her life and legacy. keep it on this channel. i'm richard lui along with bill karins. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day on your nbc station. have a great wednesday.

new details this morning about a south bay paramedic shot in oakland hills. also, your privacy at risk. police in one city now talking

about putting surveillance cameras at the front door of every bar. and the bay area getting ready to welcome the president. what he's planning to do and why traffic won't be that big of an issue during his visit. for our ritual live look outside, hp pavilion, where the san jose sharks call home. on a five-game winning streak. this wednesday, april 3rd. this is "today in the bay." we are, mid week. it is wednesday. good morning. i'm john kelly. >> and i'm laura garcia-cannon. good morning to you, lawyura an jon. good morning to you at home. we have rain between now and then. want to start with what's happening now. fog developing up in the north bay.

three miles in livermore. expecting these numbers to fall through the next couple of hours. we'll hold off on the rain until tomorrow. highs today, close to 80 degrees. your full forecast in a few moments. first, take a look at the roads on a wednesday. good morning, anthony. >> good morning. mike has the day off again. we have some construction going on. otherwise, things are good to go. 880 is slow in fremont. circled the area on the map. you can see. again, it's hit and miss. slowing. nothing really in the road. no accidents to report. it's still early, though. as we get through the next 2 1/2 hours as you join us and continue to pop in and out of the room, of course, as you listen to us this morning. not a whole lot happening right now. of course, it is early. we'll keep you posted. back to you. anthony, thank you very much. police right now trying to figure out exactly who shot at a south bay paramedic as he drove through the oakland hills. still in the