this morning on "early today," hard hit. the death toll rises from the punishing line of tornadoes that struck the nation's midsection. glacial meltdown. cameras are rolling as a massive ice wall collapses in argentina. and last man standing. a river of lava evicts the one remaini resident of a community in hawaii. captions paid for by nbc-universal television captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry, and today we begin with the strike zone. a daunting task of clean-up and recovery awaits many midwest and mid south residents this morning.

at least 39 people lost their lives in the recent rash of devastating tornados including an indiana toddler found live in a field saturday. nbc's jay gray reports. >> reporter: this morning across tornado alley battered communities are preparing for anything but a normal monday. the message seems a bit obvious like so much here. henryville high school has been torn apart. there are, though, other signs of survival. sunriselight brings the steady rhythm of crews pulling away and piling up what they can. others sifting through the rubble, finding anything they might be able to save, evidence of their lives before the storm. >> she's probably 70 and she lost everything except what we can pull out. >> reporter: more than three dozen families already know they won't find any help or help in this debris. they lost loved ones in this storm. one of those gone, 15-month-old angel babcock. after the storm first responders found the toddler fighting for

her life in this field, her mom, dad, and two brothers already dead. yesterday angel passed away after being pulled from life support. her grandfather shared his emotions just before making the agonizing decisions. >> our pastor's going to go with me. we're going to pray there, and i'm going to tell that little girl -- i'm going to tell her that it's time for her to meet her mommy and daddy. >> reporter: while those left bind now fight through their overwhelming grief as they face the difficult struggle to survive. jay gray, nbc news, henryville, indiana. well, elsewhere, tomorrow is super tuesday with 424 delegates at stake in 11 states. a new national nbc news "wall street journal" poll shows the combative primary season has taken a toll on the republican party. 40% of all adults say the long republican nominating process has given them a less favorable impression of the party.

70% of respondents describe the gop using negative comments, including unenthusiastic, painful, poor choices, and depressed. president obama's approval rating is up to 50%, his highest mark since the death of osama bin laden. in a general election matchup, president obama leads his closest competitor mitt romney by six points, 50% to 44%. in the latest nbc maris poll in ohio, the biggest surprise on tuesday, rick santorum leads mitt romney by only two points. just a reminder for you, nbc news will have special super tuesday coverage. that's beginning at 10:00 p.m. eastern, 8:00 p.m. in the west. that's right here on this nbc station. president obama meets with israeli prmt benjamin netanyahu today. he says u.s. would not hesitate to attack iran to keep it from developing a nuclear bomb.

the president spoke at apac, vowing to defend israel. nbc's brian mooar has the story. >> reporter: speaking to a powerful pro-israel group one day before a critical meeting with israel's prime minister, president obama sent a forceful message on iran. >> iran's leaders should understand that i do not have a policy of containment. i have a policy to prevent iran from making a nuclear bomb. from obtaining a nuclear winnipeg. >> reporter: president obama and prime minister benjamin netanyahu are at odds on how to keep iran from developing a nuclear weapon. iran refuses to abandon what it insists is a peaceful power program despite mounting everyday and biting international sanctions. israel says it can't wait and is threatening a military strike. president obama says military action is an option but asks for israel's trust and patience. >> now is not the time for bluster. now is the time to let our increased pressure sink in.

>> reporter: in washington, a showdown with israel over a showdown with iran. brian mooar, nbc news, washington. and now here's a look at some other storying making news in america. in colorado a chilling individual yeo show an armed robber storming into a pizza parlor ordering a man to hand over cash at gunpoint. police thinch he's responsible for ten other robberies. construction workers in kansas blew up a pair of bridges above a highway overpass this weekend. it took just seconds for it to come crashing down. the biggest concern was protecting the interstate below. crews poured dirt on interstate 435 ahead of tyke to make sure it wasn't damaged by degree. in hawaii it's paradise lost. flowing lava from a killer volcano finally meant the end for a house of a last resident on the neighborhood of the hawaii's big i land.

but it wasn't without warning. the homeowner knew the end would come one day after the molten rock first began pouring out nearly 30 years ago. and finally it's time to yell mush. it's that time of year again. the 40th annual iditarod trail sled dog race is off and running in alaska. 66 teams powered by hundreds of man's best friend kicked things off with a symbolic start to the race in anchorage, but it will be a very real track of more than a thousand miles over the next eight days. >> all right. now for a look at your national and regional weather, we check in with meteorologist bill karins. did you miss me? >> i definitely did. >> and my voice. >> i'm glad your voice is back. >> this is like bill's dream. lynn can't talk. which camera should i look at. >> all of them. all of them at the same time. good morning, everyone. of course, when we left you on friday, we were talking about the potential for this incredible tornado outbreak and it came through obviously. we had fatalities and numerous

tonights. let me give you an update on where we stand. that was mostly friday afternoon and a few on saturday in georgia. so far it looks like about 79 tornadoes. this information from dr. greg forbes at the weather channel. he pores over this. he's an expert on this stuff. so far 43 confirms from the national weather service. this number is going to continue to build. actually there's people that go out there just to make sure to get an accurate count of how many tornadoines occurred. if we beat 74, it will end up being the biggest tornado outbreak in march. what's happening this morning, a little area of light snow. they got about an inch or two of tornadoes, southern indiana, ohio, northern kentucky, it's going to head to areas of west virginia and areas of virginia this morning. it's a very chilly morning in the great lakes and new england. otherwise it's a nice quiet day, a lot of sunshine and a nice warm-up in the midwest. that's a look at the national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. nice day today in areas of the midwest.

dallas, a nice recovery after a cool start. 74 for your afternoon high. beautiful weather in denver. as we said, it's still a chilly weekend in the areas of the east coast. in the middle of the week, a significant warm-up. that's kind of the key this week. i think it's going to be a nice finish to the week for many of us. >> all right. that's good news for us. bill, thanks so much. coming up, wall street eyes job numbers. the new united airlines has a bumpy takeoff. and despite an apology, rush limbaugh loses yet another advertiser. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, the mysterious naked photo twist in the latest celebrity phone hacking. kobe gets his revenge plus tiger roars back with the best final round of his career, but was it enough to win? you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today."

i'm lynn berry and here are some of your top headline this morning. vladimir putin will become president of russia again. he got 60% of the vote. he'll serve another six-year term. an explosion at an armed storage depot in the republic of congo killed 206 people. the blast shattered windows in a three-mile radius and more than 1,500 people were injured. amateur video captured an avalanche roaring through a ski lodge. no injuries were reported. in argentina, dramatic video of huge chunks of a massive ice wall on a glacier collapsing sunday. large pieces fell into the water from the glacier which covers 97 square miles near the southern tip of south america. and in sweden, pippa middleton, sister of kate, competed in a 56-mile cross-country ski marathon.

pippa, who claimed she hadn't done much cross-country skiing before, finished the course in just over seven hours. the event raised money for a charity that delivers free healthy breakfast foods to hungry children at schools in england. and now here's an early look at how wall treat's going to kick off the day. the dow opens at 12, 977 after losing two points on friday. the s&p lost 4 points. the nasdaq was down 12. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei fell 78 points, while in hong kong the hang seng dropped 296. on wall street, all important monthly jobs figures due out friday could keep some investors on the sidelines this week. expectations are high for february jobs report after weekly claims data has steady lid inproved for nearly two months. traders will also have an eye on oil, which bubbled up over $110 a barrel at one point last week.

crude traded at around $107 this morning. after a year-long drilling moratorium, bp and other companies are stepping up exploration in the gulf. it expected to pay $7.8 billion to settle a wide range of disaster related claims. meanwhile chrysler and gm will announce the production of pickup trucks powered by gas this week. they're announcing the plug-in volt due to slow sales. over the weekend united airlines angered thousands of customers when technical glitches caused widespread problems. >> ai zb is selling to aia to help repay its u.s. bailout. pro flowers.com is the seventh advertiser to drop rush limbaugh despite his apology for

derogatory comments from a law student. and finally cigar sales in cuba are on file. six hand-made houma doors sell for under 6 bluks. a record game for the nets and a new top dog in the world of golf. plus the mass avenger strikes again. your early morni sports hecht lines are straight ahead. we're off to a nice start, nice and tranquil weather. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today." and a new top dog in the world

. good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports yesterday'sen to nba matchup was no match at all as kobe bryant and the lakers easily extinguish the miami heat. here's mario solis with all of your morning headlines. good morning. when dwyane wade broke kobe bryant's nose last week in the all-star game, they knew they had a chance. they simply outplayed them. to los angeles, kobe bryant wasting no time getting back at flash, and the heat, 18 points in the first quarter. lakers led by a dozen at the half. andrew bynum and pau gasol

dominating down low and if the seven-footers were not scoring, the masked ma'am beau was. lakers doused the heat, 93-83. rajon rondo has been the subject of trade talks but if he keeps playing the way he is, there's no way the celtics will get rid of him. 18 points, 20 points and a career-high poimtss against the knicks. paul pierce delivers, ties the game. forces overtime. then the celtics pull away for good. rondo to ray allen. boston wins 105-101. williams scored 57 points. that's right. he was the perfect 21 for 21 at the charity stripe. net fans haven't had so much to cheer about this year but they had to love this. new jersey wins 104-101. nascar denny hamlin lead for 61 laps and took the checkered flag in phoenix. it is his 18th sprint car run.

tiger woods short 52 for his best round career. he rallied for nine points back. it wasn't enough. rory mall elroy to lead club shot after club shot he is now the number one golfer in the world. and that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. this weekend's box office champ had the biggest opening of the year so far. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, florida's key west is known for its unique gatherings and contests. we'll show you the latest coming up. you're watching "early today."

today." we have some snow moving through areas of kentucky. you'll wake up to an inch or two on your car, maybe your sidewalk. that's heading into the appalachians. west virginia and virginia is going to get some of that snow. a snies warm-up into the southeast. well, if you're watching us on wtlv in jacksonville, florida, a near baby gainesville, dug out canoes at paddling through the america at florida museum of natural history. that's your early event of the day. now here's a look at this

morn eegs entertainment. the dollar signs taken in by the winner. the 3-d animated dr. seuss film, the lorax, took in a much higher than expected 07 million bucks. that easily scored the year's highest -- biggest bog office debut. it was also the biggest ever opening for a dr. seuss movie, topping the $55 mill made by how the grinch stole christmas. coming in on second was the r-rated teen party comedy project x with just under $21 million. the year's best picture oscar winner the artist jumped 34% this weekend making almost $4 million in tenth place. bill is yawning. >> i was not. >> finally, christina hendricks, one of the latest sleblt phone hacking victims claims several personal shots were stolen but she insists one shot on the web allegedly showing her naked is a fake.

interestingly, tmz says the other victim olivia moon says exactly the same thing. shots stolen but one shown nude is a fake. this comes to us from key west florida where shooting your own horn is not considered immodest. that was one of more than 50 contestants who took part in the shell blowing contest. it's always known as the covera konkkonk. in the end one did it. he did it by blowing two horns. take a listen. two is always better than one, right? i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

>> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning. we're off to a quiet start on this monday. the drive time will be just time. skies are breakers -- skies are basically clear. we have a chance for some rain or snow showers. the best chance will be south of baltimore. we will come back and check the seven-day forecast going to the end of the week. >> 4:57. >> a look at the latest cleanup

efforts following the devastating weather in tornado alley. >> the body of a girl is found in a baltimore alley. >> foreign affairs and the economy are making headlines just before super tuesday. >> sarah caldwell checking on your morning commute. your morning commute. we will let you know how t you know what's exciting, graduation. when i look up into my student's faces, i see pride. you know, i have done something worthwhile. when i earned my doctorate through university of phoenix, that pride, that was on my face. i am jocelyn taylor, i am committed to making a difference in peoples lives and i am a phoenix.

[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning. happy monday. i am mindy basara. >> i am stan stovall. >> it will be a little chilly but we do not expect any rain or snow. snow.