the senate today is scheduled to begin debate on a fragile debate on background checks on gun sales. nbc's tracie potts is in washington. >> reporter: good morning. we saw her get choked up in chicago and aside from the emotion and we've seen that here in washington, our new nbc/wall street journal" poll numbers show 50% of the country supporting tougher gun laws. those are just the numbers. washington full of emotion on gun control. senator joe manchin with families from the newtown, connecticut school shooting. >> i'm a parent. >> reporter: the first lady talking to students about the tragic shooting. hadiya pendleton. >> i used them to use their lives to give meaning to hadiya's life.

>> reporter: and on capitol hill, victoria desocietdesoto, . december 14, 2012. newtown, connecticut. >> reporter: later this morning we'll see if a threatened filibuster will stop or slow down a vote on democrats gun bill but a more likely deal struck by democrat joe manchin and republican pat toomey would expand background checks to include gun shows and online sales. >> to me this isn't gun control this is common sense. >> reporter: that deal also includes ease restrictions on interstate gun sales and shielding sellers from lawsuits if the gun they sold legally if later is used in a crime. >> you can pass all the laws you want and the criminal element is going to sit back and smile. enjoy broad public support in polls. and washington is still in limbo. now, today in front of the capitol, shooting victims are setting up a memorial of those

who have been killed urging lawmakers not just the vote, but the people behind it. tracie potts in washington. connecticut's new gun control laws are to blame for one gun manufacturer's plan to leave the state and with others threatening to follow. the company's 20 to 50 employees will follow to the next location which has not yet been announced. ptr industries said the new gun measures were drafted hastily and trampled on gun owners' rights. they say they can no longer survive in the former constitution state. nbc's dylan dreyer here with the forecast. dylan, looks like the weather is on the move. >> this say crazy weather. we have the northern parts of minnesota and tornadoes will be seen across the gulf states today. you can see where that warm area is, though, in the southeastern part of the country. and back behind it, that's where that warm air is.

it's that clash that is creating a potential for heavy storms. heavy rain is falling from the great lakes to the gulf coast. we have heavy snow falling in and around minneapolis into duluth as well where there could be 9 to 12 inches possible. on the west coast, though, we're looking at a couple showers in northern and central nevada. other than that a little light rain in seattle put portland should be fairly quiet. most of california nation and sunny as well. temperaturewise, upper 50s in the northwest. 60s in the central oregon. 70s, though, in l.a. today and 80s in the desert southwest. so that's where all the warm air is in the west coast, and we should see that cooler air, though, start to settle in cali most of the california will be in 60s and 70s.

88 degrees in yuma, arizona. so it is going to continue to be a little unsettled in the northwest. again, the big story is the snow in the northern plains and that heavy rain possible today in the gulf. >> it's crazy. great for ski resorts. but the rest of us, where is spring. >> i think a lot of us are ready for the ski resorts to shut down. pack it up. it is mid-april. and will they continue to search today? plus pain and your brain. and a place where a new bridge has a real fire-breathing dragon. "early today" is back in two.

welcome back to "early today." we got the latest results from a new nbc/wall street journal poll which shows president obama's approval rating has fallen below 50%. the first time since the election. 55% of americans favor stricter laws when it comes to the sale of firearms and more than two-thirds now say they support a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. for more go to nbcnews.com.

zbleen. meanwhile, tens of thousands of immigrants and activists were on the washington mall on wednesday to press for action on an immigration bill. in the "new england journal of medicine" scientists say they can see pain on brain scans. early stages also reveal the ability to measure intensity of pain and tell whether medicine is doing anything to remove it. physicist stephen hawking says the end is near. he says humans must venture into space in order to survive because earth will not last another thousand years. the government of mali says it's embarrassed after giving french president a camel. it was a thank you gift but when the president could not take it home a local family ate it. officials have promised him a bigger and better looking camel. vietnam has unveiled a new bridge shaped like a dragon and, yes, it even breathes fire.

it's lit by 12,000 l.e.d. lights. new jersey based company built the six lane bridge for $85 million. now, your first look at what's moving your money today, we go to seema mody. good morning. good morning, president obama will meet with the ceo of several big banks today. they'll likely discuss the u.s. budget, job creation, immigration reform and cybersecurity. in another news, total sales expected to drop more than 1% due to the early easter holiday. and in the tech world, microsoft is thinking about a smaller screen. "the wall street journal" reports the company is developing a seven-inch tablet to go into production later this year, as it competes against google's nexus and the ipad mini. another big rally on wall street drove the s&p down to

record closes. the nasdaq hit a 12-year high. that news came from meeting minutes mistakenly sent tuesday night. officials released the minutes at 9:00 a.m., instead of the usual 2:00 p.m. weekly jobless claims are out and investors are anxious to find out if the reports were a fluke or a troubling find. and just this morning, toyota, honda and nissan are recalling 3 million vehicles worldwide due to defects in air bags. and the reported china deadly flu outbreak it's taken a 13% toll on china sales. fell to the lowest level in six years down 23% from last march. a decrease from 12% from the previous quarters. pcs are losing more ground to tablets. sales plunged 12%. the most in two decades this as

microsoft is about to release the version of its seven-inch tablet. and the cash-strapped postal service failed to convince congress that ending saturday delivery is just the best way to save cash. taco bell says by 2020 it willed me guidelines for calories and fat. and finally, a study on social media finds that people are ruder. and as a result people are being unfriended and in some cases being cut off in the new world. in chicago, meet the buy who brings a bat to a gun fight and wince. and the after math of a lightning strike had these consequences. you're watching "early today."

now to some other stories that caught our eye this morning. a chicago store owner brought a bat to a gunfight and won. he fought off a pair of robbers. even after being shot in the leg. he repeatedly swung even as the gunman continued to fire at him. the violent struggle ended with both suspects running off and the store owner surviving with only one gunshot wound. next to texas where lightning caused an oil tank to ignite. the explosion ignited a raging fire that shot flames several feet into the air. the blaze lasted 15 minutes before firefighters put it out. no injuries were reported.

two oregon teens put on an extraordinary show of strength after their dad accidently flipped a tractor on himself. >> i was saying god help me because i obviously could not lift it myself. it was heavy. >> with no time to waste the 14 and 16-year-old rescued their father by lifting the 3,000 pound vehicle just enough for him to wiggle free. and finally, a hawaii man nearly became fish food while he was fishing in his kayak. a tiger shark leaped from the ocean. oh, there it is, as he was reeling it in. it sent shock waves through the fisherman but he was more than happy to be the one that got away this time. in torts, let's go to the miami heat, they clinch the best record in the nba with win number 62. the heat's big stars were not playing. but the rest of the team took care of business against the washington wizards. miami got 103-98 win and home court advantage throughout the playoffs. speaking of heat, brooklyn's chris humphreys and kevin

garnett through elbows. no fouls were called as the nets beat the celtics 101-93. the university of louisville celebrated its ncaa men's basketball championship as students cheered the cardinals victory on campus. coach rick pitino was looked ahead to next season. >> i always preach louisville first let's live today let's live in the present but wouldn't it being a great if we somehow got back to dallas next year? >> in baseball baltimore's manny machado had a three-run homer in the ninth inning, gave the orioles an 8-5 win over boston. the game also marked another loss the red sox sell out streak for regular and post-season play at fenway park. it ended at 820 games after 10 years. in chicago, a goat head was sent to cubs owner in wrigley field. there was no note but cubs players and fans are all familiar with the billy goat curse that some believe has kept them out of the world series.

it was placed on the team back in 1945 when a restaurant owner was asked to leave for bringing a goat to the ballpark. the cubs are 4-4 this season. >> announcer: "early today" sports is brought to you by just for men mustache and beard. keep your edge. just ahead, where will today's wicked weather crop up? dylan's forecast is next. plus, it just might be the easiest $7 million katy perry ever earned. we'll tell you how. you're watching "early today."

good morning, welcome back. we're looking at a pretty average weather going on across seattle and portland. right now, starting off in the mid-40s. we've got 50s down across california. a couple of light showers in the pacific northwest. it shouldn't be all that heavy. even portland will see improvements by the afternoon. san francisco, 64 degrees today. l.a. should top out at 71. then as we end off the work week on friday a couple more shower it's in northwest. the snow continues to fall into montana and denver, back up to 51. l.a., a little cooler topping out in the upper 60s. again, pretty typical stuff going on in the northwest. >> thanks, dylan. katy perry's $7 million mansion is up for sale. the home was originally purchased by russell brand. but after he and perry filed for divorce in 2011 the rights of the mansion went to perry. and now she's looking to sell. for the record, neither of the

patient even moved into the house. lindsay lohan is looking next month to apparently get her life in order. but the public has little faith in the actress. 80% of respondents in a yahoo! poll say there's no chance for a come back. in a show of true star power tom cruise and morgan freeman shut down hollywood boulevard for the movie "oblivion." complete with giant spacecraft. johnny rotten apparently does not like to be interrupted during interviews. >> and -- >> and margaret thatcher then -- >> hey, hey, missy, shut up. shut up. whoever you are. shut up. shut up. now, listen, when a man is talking, do not interrupt. >> whoa, ladies, quite the catch there, hay? joel mccale is shooting a christmas movie in atlanta that involves his crotch being set on fire in a screen test for the scene. we see mchale nonchalantly

dancing around while his pants are ablaze. all in a day's work, i don't know. >> what's more exciting, and then the fire gets put out? >> it doesn't seem to bother him at all. >> must be an extra layer beneath his jeans. this comes to us from wwbt in richmond, virginia. it's time to ride in style. 32-year-old melissa barr has endured surgery, cheaply know and radiation since diagnosed with brain cancer. as a celebratory treat, her husband arranged to escort her to the final treatment session. the car company liked that so much, they're now offering that for any patient heading to the last appointment. >> it's awesome that the limo company picked up on how sweet her husband was. and said this is wonderful for everyone. it was touching to see him do that. >> it's a win-win situation for

everybody. i'm dara brown and this is "early today." just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

the lead story this morning in the "new york times" obama budget opens riff for democrats on social benefits. a debate on what it means to be progressive democrat in an age of austerity. in "usa today," arias key witness feels social media's heat. in the murder trial of jodi arias a domestic violence expert has been testifying on the stand

for three days. the story notes she's been annihilated in social media. a group of skiers got to christian a mountain range in pakistan. using a helicopter, they dropped on a snow-covered range 16,000 feet above sea level, heading down a steep slope on one of the world's tallest slopes. they're the first humans to tackle the tough mountain. incredible excavation in london. experts nicknaming the site pompeii of the north. the artifacts were preserved uncovering treasure dating back to 40 a.d. carved combs, roman pins. over 8,000 pieces from the roman era have been discovered. a mother dog done raising her pups wasn't quite ready to turn off her motherly instinct. chloe has been turning to these young kittens. watching them over with a mother's protection. she's loving the furry fosters as if they were her own two

kids. that's very sweet. >> i wonder when they grow up, if they'll still get along, the whole cats and dogs thing. >> well, if they remember. >> right. i doubt they will. >> i'm sure, they'll probably just stay together. one big happy family. >> one big happy family. and for a look ahead and a look back. a florida court appearance for josh and sharyn hakken. the couple face kidnapping and other charges for taking their children from their grandparents last week and fleeing into cuba. on this day in 1998 a historic deal to end the troubles in northern ireland. nbc's ron allen reported on the good friday agreement. >> reporter: for so long it seemed impossible, a peace agreement where history is written in blood. now it's negotiations. 17 hours past the midnight deadline. former u.s. senate majority leader george mitchell launching a new beginning for a troubled land. happy birthday to yankee's first baseman mark teixeira, 33.

joel gray 81. ethel kennedy is 85. here comes a wedding as a man shocked his girlfriend with a surprise of a lifetime. now, keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm dara brown. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. the day today on your nbc station. have a good thursday. [ female announcer ] now get high speed internet at home on our newly expanded advanced digital network, a connection you can count on. at&t u-verse high speed internet offers more speed options, reliability and wi-fi hotspots than ever. go to our website below to get u-verse high speed internet for just $14.95 a month for 12 months with a one-year price guarantee. it's all the speed you need all at a great price. our newly expanded advanced digital network gives you more of what you enjoy online. and with at&t, our wireless gateway turns your home into a private wi-fi hotspot that connects your wi-fi devices

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a cold shoulder from bud selig after san jose's major asked for a personal meeting. a live look outside. it is almost 4:31. good morning to one and all. i'm jon jon kelley. >> i'm laura garcia kelly. >> a carjacking near mission street at 3:00 this morning. the car you see there hit a fire hydrant and a muni bus before coming to a stop. when they ran the plates of the car, officers say, it came up as a carjacking out of modesto. marla tallez headed to the scene

will have an update rough and scary way to start the day. 4:31. let's check back in with meteorologist, christina loren and see what's happening on a thursday. good morning to you. we made it through the warmest day of the year so far. this morning, still pretty warm, specially in the east bay. it is going to kick in. that means temperatures will drop off as a result. we are headed back to the 70s. we have some changes headed our way inti time for the weekend. first, let's see if there are any problems on the road with our own mike inouye. a little fog out there. we also have the area in 101. an earlier crash. in palo alto, a light, light volume of traffic. not in palo alto but on the maps, we are watching just south of the san mateo bridge. south of 101, you will see a smooth drive on the censors. there is no major issues as far