coming up on early today, nato holding emergency talks on ukraine and russia's occupation as the white house weighs options. the opportunity loses the first round in court to force her parents to pay for school costs. and check that bag for oversized carry ones. why timber thieves are poaching california's giant redwoods and breathtaking images of niagara. it's wednesday, march 5th. "early today" starts right now.

good morning to you. i'm richard lui. from the brink of war to war of worlds, vladimir putin breaking his silence mocked the west comparing foreign policy to an experiment involving lab rats. while in kiev, secretary of state john kerry said the opposite this is pledge to invade forward. he pledged $1 billion in u.s. assistance to the struggling ukraine. jim joining us now in moscow. good morning to you. a lot going on to talk about. perhaps more aide from the eu and perry going to paris. >> reporter: that's right. kerry is in paris to discuss with russian counter parts. richard, i think you could say there's been a change in the past 24 hours as far as

potential progress. that clearly comes from putin's comments tuesday that he saw no need for the use of force in ukraine and had no desire to annex the peninsula. that allowed the perceptible change from the military confrontation we've been reporting on to take a step back from the brink. today in crimea things repain tense on the ground. there's reports of russians seizing two ukraine missile posts. ukraine is spinning not towards war but diplomatic solution. secretary of state john kerry meeting with the russian counter part in paris is the first face to face meeting since the crisis escalated. perhaps more significantly ukrainians and russians on a governmental level are talking for the first time today. the russian defense official is discussing ukraine with nato members in brussels as well.

in this whole kind of flurry of diplomacy we're getting the sense of two end games. west is pushing the plan to include international observers on the ground, in crimea. direct talks between kiev and moscow and new elections in may a, russians want a return of the ousted ukrainian leader viktor yanukovych to hold the government and re-election in december. there's a gulf between the two side, but at least they're once again talking together. >> 4:03 in the afternoon in moscow, russia. thank you so much jim. back at home, there is new political fights to talk about. president barack obama 's $3.9 trillion budget is on capitol hill. the highlight is massive expansion of earned income tax credit. 13.5 million workers would be eligible for $60 billion in credit. also included, billions for

roads and rails, spending the white house says will bolster the economy. republicans say the president's budget is dead on arrival. they complain it runs up the nation's credit card without addressing long term debt. the 2014 primary season kicking off in texas with drama. attorney general greg abbott easily winning the republican primary a. he's the new gop nominee in more than one decade. he wants more freedom and less government. >> we must never forget that the rights that we have, they don't come from government. instead those rights come from god. >> democrats pinning their hopes on state senator wendy davis. she called her opponent defender of status quo. >> i'm ready to fight for you and to fight for every hardworking texan a across the state. >> another member of the bush

family begins his political career with a win. george p bush, former son of jeb bush. one lieutenant governor dewhurst and the oldest serving member of the house is fighting for his job. 90-year-old republican paul talked here. his challenger said he spent too much time in d.c. what would be the nation's strongest abortion bill has passed the house. the state house voted 73-29 in favor of the measure. the bill heads to the senate three other restrictions. if signed into law, alabama would join other states with the

strongest bills. now to two top democrats over odds in ruling favor over same sex marriage. the governor does not support same sex marriage and is hiring outside lawyers to fight that decision. he's at odds with the attorney general who refused to appeal the decision calling it discrimination. >> this issue is really larger than any single person. it's about placing people over politics. for those that disagree, i can only say i'm doing what i think is right. the final analysis i had to makes a decision i could be proud of. for me now, and for my daughter's judgment in the future. >> the judge's order did not fully strike down the ban on same sex marriage. it mandates kentucky to recognize unions performed in other states. now to a teen that is suing

her parents for money after she moved out. a judge denying rachel canning's request for support at a hearing tuesday in new jersey. he said the 18-year-old's case could lead to a quote potentially slippery slope of teens suing their parents. he recommended counselling ahead of the meeting. she wants her parents to pay the private tuition and some or all of her college tuition. she said she left the home to escape years of abuse. her parents deny allegations and said she refused to a bide by their rules. an asteroid may come to close. nasa says nothing to sneeze at. the giant space rock will be closer than the moon when it zips by earth this afternoon. scientists do not see a disaster moving on the horizon. they expect the fly by to take

place 200,000 miles away. okay weather, arctic weather. conditions slamming the southeast forcing thousands of drivers to camp out in their cars. officials shut down portions of i-55 and i-40 in arkansas after snow, sleet, freezing rain produced treacherous driving conditions. since monday, crashes have trapped drivers on highways. bill karins joins you now. now it's in philadelphia. they dodged a bullet there. it's cold. >> that's the problem, still cold. in areas like that it didn't melt. that traffic jam happened after the snow and sleet stopped in arkansas. in the west, two storms in the oechlths bo ocean both bringing moisture to the west coast. they are dragging wind into the northwest and california bringing beneficial rain.

unfortunately too much rain in the pacific northwest. flood watches in many areas. northern california this is good. we need the rain. later it will come into san francisco. the areas could pick up one to two inches of rain. easily one to two in the mountains in the pacific northwest. snow levels above 6,000-7,000 feet. we have an avalanche warning. because of the additional warning of snow we could have problems. forecast today, rainy in the th. drier weather returns friday and saturday. warm and raining, i guess we'll take it.

we have the avalanches threat, always scary. >> drought in the vernacular anymore? >> yes, definitely. >> i was so hoping. >> thank you. ever manage how the baggage hogs sneak those onto planes? if they fly united they're in for a rude a wakening. stunning images in freezing temperatures at niagara falls. this is "early today." [ baby crying ]

♪ [ female announcer ] unlike ordinary diapers pampers stay up to three times drier, so babies can sleep soundly all night. pampers. [ clears throat ] hi. what did you do to deserve that thin mints flavor coffee-mate? it's only one of the most delicious girl scout cookie flavors ever. i changed the printer ink. [ male announcer ] try coffee-mate girl scout cookie flavors.

we need a new recipe. let us consult the scroll of infinite deliciousness. perfect. [ wisest kid ] campbell's has the recipes kids love. so good! [ wisest kid ] at campbellskitchen.com. [ gong ] m'm! m'm! good! welcome back. researchers have unveiled an experimental shot. this would have to be administered once every few months. one woman was killed in a gas explosion tuesday. authorities say the gas line was damaged by a group of workers

digging in the area. seven were admitted to the area. nighttime robberies in california's redwood forest have left the trees butchered. the national park service say they plan to close roadways on a nightly basis to prevent the poaching incidents. they're stealing wood. niagara falls frozen. looking good while at it. what a beauty. millions of gallons not moving. now for business, we turn to courtney reagan. good morning to you. >> good morning. stocks rallied tuesday as investors put a side concerns about ukraine. it was the best for the year of dow and s&p 500. gm ceo says the auto maker is sorry for the recall of 1.4 million vehicles involving air bags that don't deploy due to faulty ignition sources.

gm has known about the issue since 2004. she's personally leading the internal review. workers are sending passengers who's bags exceed dimensions of the bag size back to the ticket counter where it's checked for a $25 fee. united wants to speed up the boarding process. i'm sure that's the reason. richard, back to you. >> yeah, courtney, figures crossed when it comes to speeding up things like that. just ahead, march getting mad early. we inch closer to selection sunday. a hockey fight leads to a jab in the face for this ref. right. real milk. but it won't cause me discomfort. exactly, no discomfort, because it's milk without the lactose. and it tastes? it's real milk! come on, would i lie about this? hello.

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this morning, "today" sits down with jagger about his project, james brown. why jagger wants to share the story. one of his inspirations on "today." now in sports. what a night. eight of nine played last night. here's the action. lebron james with a whopping 61 points monday, held to 22 points last night. the king barely right? five seconds left, three in overtime. james misses. houston takes it 106-103.

no jitters for thompson. he hits the jumper for the lead with 0.6 seconds left. pacers get their fourth loss at home this season. 98-96. it was a night for unranked teams in college basketball. unranked georgia tech handing number seven ranked syracuse their fourth loss in five games. 67-62. syracuse got scoring problems. espn saying they broke 70 points twice in 17 conference games. unranked baylor to talk about. looking good for post season. beat iowa state 74-61, baylor's sixth win in seven games. number 12 michigan winning the championship out right last night. first time in 28 years they wrap illinois 84-53. who to watch going to post season? florida ranked one. wichita state rehind them.

arizona, duke, virginia. that's chad johnson, aka ocho cinco, former receiver instead playing defense in a flag football game. not good. he gets faked out, beat deep, scored on for a touchdown. he should sit down. what do you think? not nhl. colorado and chicago during a scuffle. a player inadvertently punching the ref in the jaw, knocking him down. no penalty. if you care, colorado won 4-2. ahead, lindsey lohan's dose of reality. john travolta reacts to his spectacular oscar flub. ♪boots and pants and boots and pants♪ ♪and boots and pants and boots and pants♪ ♪and boots and pants... voice-enabled bill pay. just a tap away on the geico app. ♪ huh, 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. yup, everybody knows that.

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well looks like it's going to be a rainy wednesday throughout the morning and afternoon we're locked in the green in the rain. not a lot of snow on the map. here's the seattle area. looks like heavier heading over top of you. moderate rain if you're leaving in the next hour. toward the olympics we had a bunch of rain. toward olympia, a lot of rain. portland same for you. keep the umbrella out today. dry in southern california. as we go towards tomorrow t cold front kicks in. we have the chance of a few thunderstorms with it. active weather, we like it. >> the more green you show us, the better right about now. john travolta acknowledged

he butchered idina mendes name in the oscars. he said he went on to say, quote, what would idina mendes say? she'd say let it go, let it go. that's the song she sang in the movie. so much attention from the oscars, the simpson's twitter account posted their own version of what happened in the selfie. look at homer. sorry. ash ton kutcher's sitcom, two and a half men. the two were on the show together, got engaged and now have a sitcom together. we have the series you're asking for. lindsey lohan's upcoming reality show of course. >> it's good, good, good. there's the thing in my head where it's like time to

sabotage. >> don't put words in my mouth. >> this is exactly what everybody said was going to happen. i believe differently. >> you need to cut the [ bleep ]. you really do. >> the official so equipped with a sober coach, lindsey moves into a hotel and searches for an apartment. the star studded cast of "dancing with the stars" including dj from full house, actual dancers olympians charlie davis, merrill white, and jim carrey. what a cast. we hope this is just you're first stop today on nbc. [ male announcer ] walgreens understands being at the corner of "looking for a good deal" and "sheesh, i should've looked some more."

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leading the news in the columbus dispatch. boy points finger like gun, gets suspended. the ohio suspending a 10-year-old student three days after the child posted a look a like firearm at another student and pretended to shoot other. in the washington post, cherry blo cherry blossoms reach full bloom in april. the famous cherry blossoms braved the harsh winter. can't wait for that one. stories you may have missed. president barack obama 's $3.9 trillion budget, the expansion of the earned income tax credit. americans would be eligible for

$60 billion in credits. the republicans say the budget runs up the nation's credit card without addressing long term debt. the abortion bill would ban abortions the minute a fetal heartbeat is detected, as early as six weeks into pregnancy. that heads to the senate. an asteroid zips by the earth today. scientists say it's thankfully 200,000 miles away. on your marks get set do. this is a relay race where the baton has been replaced with glorious pancakes. it took place in london to celebrate national pancake day and raise money for charity. they're not hot. these cakes look suspiciously similar to french crepes. who's counting? >> eat any pancake you want.

what are you putting in it? >> chocolate chip blueberry. >> too sweet. michelle obama highlights work to be done for enrolling insurance coverage. the king of rock-n-roll returning from the military after two years in military. elvis presley completing army service and coming home to the u.s. to hordes of screaming fans. happy birthday to mendes who's 40, joel olsteen turns 51, and pantela is 59. never know his real name. >> keep it here for more news, weather, sports. i'm richard lui. have a great day ahead. .

. happy 4:30 in the morning. i'm scott mcgrew. >> i'm peggy bunker. let's take you outside this morning. live look at bay bridge toll plaza, san mateo bridge, south bay at san jose right now tracking another round of wet weather headed our way. we'll be talking to christina loren here in a quick moment. but first, happening now, major problem with the morning commute. a large stretch of b.a.r.t. track is closed this morning service between south hayward and fremont shut down after a person was hit and killed by a train heading to richmond. investigators are not released too many details about the person. they don't know why he or she was on the tracks in the first