this morning on "early today", high stakes race. gop presidential hopefuls compete in two surprisingly tight primaries in the deep south. travelers choice. which of the nation's beaches made the cut for the best sand and sun? and feeding frenzy a school of sharks spotted uncomfortably and feeding frenzy a school of sharks spotted uncomfortably close to an australian shore. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. and today we begin with the south having its say. folks are going to head to the poll today in mississippi and

alabama where republican presidential candidates have been campaigning hard to convince conservative voters they share their southern values. caucuses will be held today in hawaii. tracie potts joins us from washington with the details. tracie, good morning. >> hi, lynn. good morning. this southern vote, bible belt vote will be a real test for mitt romney, the conservative base of the party has not been his strong suit. the polls seem to indicate that beginning rich is running strong in these states, although romney is within striking distance. this is sort of a must win for newt gingrich. he's from the state next door when it comes to alabama and mississippi. and his campaign needs to win the south to prove he can go on in this race. southern voters say the primaries today are literally about more than grits and gravy. you have heard a lot of that on the campaign trail. voters say they want to hear things about cheaper gas. both gingrich and santorum talked about that at an energy

forum monday in mississippi. santorum has the conservative message that seems to appeal to a lot of these voters. almost three out of four in alabama and mississippi identified themselves as evangelical voters. that is the area where santorum has had his strongest appeal. gingrich needs to win, but romney is running strong because republicans want to win overall and the polls are showing he still seems to have the strongest chance of winning against president barack obama. we'll see what the voters in alabama and mississippi have to say about that today. >> tracie potts for us in washington. tracie, thank you. elsewhere, the merge soldier accused of killing 16 afghan civilians could face execution on sunday. he will be tried under the u.s. military legal code. that code does allow for the death penalty in some cases. the soldier's name has not been released.

we know he is a 38-year-old staff sergeant who was serve anything afghanistan hafr three prior tours of duty in iraq. he was trained as a sniper and suffered a head injury in a vehicle accident in iraq. in washington state, the soldier's wife and two children have been moved on to a military base to keep them safe from possible retribution attacks. a special united nations meeting so far failed to find a way to stop the violence in syria. secretary of state hillary clinton met with russia's foreign minister and other diplomats yesterday to talk about a potential cease-fire. russia, syria's most powerful a ally, would have condemned the crackdown in syria. mrs. clinton said the the security council cannot, quote, stand silent while governments attack their own people. government soldiers rounded up civilians in the city of homs and killed dozens yesterday. the u.n. says more than 7,500

people have died in the fighting in syria over the last year. >> and now here's a look at some other stories making news "early today" in america. it was kind of a frightening scene in pennsylvania where a school playground just went up in a flames. surveillance video shows the fire being fueled by the rubber mulch in the playground -- that the playground stood o. no word for the cause but three teenagers were seen in the area before. miserable and dangerous conditions for drivers in parts of washington state. a dust storm caused blinding conditions that led to a 20-car pileup outside yakima, injuring one person. parts of interstate 97 had to be shut down due to all the blowing debris there. finally, an unusual and sort of controversial way to get online access at the south by southwest event going on in

texas. more than a dozen homeless people are earning money by walking around wearing mobile wi-fi addresses that create 4g hot spots. an english advertising company came up with this idea and are calling it a charitable homeless. but paying homeless people $20 a day is exploitation. it is kind of an interesting idea. a lot of people shaking their heads like, what in the world? now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins. >> i want you to do that. >> oh, dow? thank you, bill. >> you will be behind me with your laptop, yeah, and i'll have my little necklace on. >> it's a little strange. >> something a little strange about it. the weather has been strange as well. >> it's almost like you're sporting a tan today. you wouldn't be the only one around the country. yesterday was 84 degrees in st. louis. two of them on the map there.

not quite as warm in kansas city but still enjoyable. this is a map you would say in may. everyone colored in yellow was in the 60s. extreme northern plains and the northwest didn't see temperatures in the 60s. we were in the 60s and 70s as far north as boston. many record highs in new england. we have held on to a lot of that warmth too. the only area below freezing is this area in north dakota. one little tiny sliver of northern maine. that's it. everybody else is above freezing. and we're well above -- to start your morning, we're about 58 or 59 degrees from d.c. through boston. there is a front that's trying to move through. showers and storms overnight in michigan. now some of those showers near buffalo. light shower activity approaching new york city and philadelphia. that will move through new england. it will be in and out early by the peak of the rush hour, it should be over with. this is a map i don't use very often. the red numbers show you what the temperatures typically should be this time of year,

average high temperature. the average number in white is the real temperature. today it will be 20 degrees above average in chicago, about 25 degrees above average in minneapolis. this map shows you how unusually warm it, especially the northern half of the country. even dallas is 13 degrees above normal. this amazing weather pattern more like may continues today. that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. there's a slight chance for some storms in areas like washington, d.c., but don't expect much. most of the day will be dry. only an isolated scattered pop-up storm late in the day. summer-like weather pattern for areas like atlanta. we will see probably dozens if not hundreds of record highs throughout the end of the week. >> fun. bring it on. all right, bill, thanks so much. coming up, low volume on the street, yahoo! does battle with facebook and what a latte has in

common with a tulip. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. coming up, a milestone on the ice. linsanity is no match for the mvp. 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. a cease-fire appears to be taking hold today along the border between israel and gaza. after four days of palestinian rocket attacks and military air strikes, egypt claims to have brokered the cease-fire agreement. 18 people were killed today when a ferry packed with about # 00 people capsized in a river in southern bangladesh after colliding with another boat. 35 were rescued but another 150 other passengers are still missing. the best beach in the u.s. is in st. petersburg, florida. this according to a new website

survey. the st. pete beach was praised for its sugary white sand. the new list includes five in florida, two in hawaii and surprisingly only one in california. speaking of beaches, on the coast near perth, australia, one beach has been closed due to a massive shark feeding frenzy. video from a helicopter shows 50 sharks attacking a large school of tuna very close to shore. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. dow opens at 12 now, 12,959. nasdaq lost 4. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei added 9 points. in hong kong, the hang seng rose 205. as investors looked to head to today's fed meeting, a lot of them sat on the sidelines yesterday. it was the lightest trading day on the year on the new york

stock exchange and the nasdaq. energy, utility, and consumer staple stocks pushed blue chips higher. jpmorgan chase was among banks that suffered ahead of a possible fed decision on the soundness of the nation's largest lenders. youku shot up 27% after announcing plans to buy rival tudo in an all stop deal valued at more than a billion dollars. shares skyrocketed more than 150%. yahoo! filed a lawsuit against facebook in a california court over 10 alleged patent infringements. $25 billion settlement over alleged foreclosure abuses by five of the largest mortgage lenders has been inked in federal court. pacific gas and electric will pay $70 million in restitution for a pipeline explosion that killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes back in 2010. federal safety regulators are

investigating sticky accelerators in as many as 1.9 million ford taurus and mercury sable dedans. world trade organization upheld its ruling that boeing received unlawful subsidies which hurt europe's airbus's bottom line. and a 24-year-old barista from hong kong scooped up the title and 2,500 bucks at the latte art championship in new york. judges said his multilayered tulip pattern put his cup over the top. . well, coming up, sabres win in overtime, another shot for rand moss in nfl, and a landmark night for annan heim duck. plus, the bulls slam the knicks with a sixth straight loss. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead.

>> west coast got battered yesterday. your forecast is coming up, you're watching "early today." ♪

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here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. it's hard to believe that less than a month ago jeremy lin was the talk of the nation as he revitalized the knicks. times have changed. new york lost six in a row and linsanity has become a distant memory. knicks were running with the bulls in the first half. lin to amare. derrick rose took the game over. mvp knocked down the three for the lead. a dunk on the night elevated from the one-handed jam. worth another look. rose can fly with the best of them. he finished with 32. bulls beat the knicks, 104-99. not exactly a marquis matchup. new orleans down two, five seconds to play. trevor ariza in the basket. rejected ariza to end the game. bobcats won their sixth of the year, 73-71.

football randy moss worked out for the 49ers yesterday they signed him on the spot. his retirement inked a one-year deal for san francisco. hockey, emphatic finish in buffalo. montreal down one. david was left wide open and tied the game with four seconds left and forced overtime. but it was all for knot. two minutes in the o.t., buffalo on the attack. tyler rifled home the game winner. finally, another milestone on his hall of fame resume. 19th place all time. however, the celebration was short-lived. gabriel into the game at o.t. with a rocket past hiller. 3-2 win, avalanche. that's an early look at sports on "early today". i'm fred roggin. brought to you by touch of gray. get rid of some gray, never all.

what's next for oscar winner meryl streep possibly? and what's definitely ahead for the real star of "the artist"? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. this is how some college students would spend their spring break. others want to spend their time helping others. you're watching "early today".

welcome back to "early

today". another incredibly warm day around the country. enjoy 81 degrees, low humidity in kansas city. all into minneapolis today, 66. montana, near 70. a slight chance of a few storms in the southeast. it's really not going to be all that bad. most of the day will be on the dry side. look at tomorrow. back into the mid to upper 70s for areas like chicago and washington, d.c. everyone is getting a taste of this. well, if you're watching us on whdh 7 news in boston, mass, witness the evolution of formal wear between the 1870 and 1970, stepping out at the peabody historical society and museum. that's your "early today" event of the day. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. there was no anger or bad feelings behind his daughter's breakup with russell brand. keith hudson tells "us" magazine.com it was simple. her career took off leaving them little time to spend together.

calling it, quote, just one of those things. he insisted the split was friendly saying even he is still in touch with brand. elsewhere, fresh off her oscar for playing england's iron lady, meryl streep introduced hillary clinton at a women's summit in new york. should she play clinton next? interesting question. finally, the first big celebrity known to be attending next month's white house correspondents dinner, yes, that's it. uggy, the dog from "the artist," a guest of the washington times. we just don't get it. we still have not seen the movies. >> no. now there's a lot of pressure. >> a lot of people are like of course he's coming. >> now the joke writers have to incorporate the dog into the act somehow. >> like they did with the oscars? yeah. no pressure. this comes to us from wave three 3 news in louisville, kentucky, nearby marysville, indiana, some

college students are spending a different kind of spring break. international students from purdue are volunteering for cleanup in the wake of this month's deadly tornados. more than 80 students from countries like india, nigeria, china are helping pick up debris and clearing the roads there. many say they have never seen tornado destruction close up until now, so it's really motivating them to get out and help the community they've sort of been adopted into. it's amazing. great thing for them to do. >> a lot of people in our country don't realize we have by far the most tornados. just the way the mountains, the rockies are, it's the formula for them. >> and you see the kind of destruction they cause. >> yeah. >> all right. bill, thanks so much. i'm lynn berry, and 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. it is a mild start for us but we have some light rain in some neighborhoods. 61 at the airport. a little bit of light rain out there. most is not the eastern shore counties. it should not have a big affect on this morning's commute. rain comes to an end early this morning. maybe some thunderstorms later this afternoon. a mixture of sun and clouds. high temperatures in the 70's.

we will come back and check the seven-day forecast. >> 55 degrees on tv hill. >> up next -- >> dutch ruppersberger react to the recent shootings in afghanistan. i have details coming up. >> it is a seventh show doubt that could be gop game changer-- it is a southern showdown. >> an accident on northbound 795. we will check for

okay, that looks great. were you profitable last month? how much money is in your checking account? have the browns paid you for their addition yet? your finances are scattered all over the place. mm-hmm. what are your monthly expenses? you keep your receipts in plastic baggies? seriously? [ announcer ] get it done and get it off your mind with quickbooks. organize your small business finances all in one place, even online banking. and now your business can be at your fingertips, anywhere. quickbooks, guaranteed easy or your money back. learn more at quickbooks.com. [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. i'm mindy basara. >> and i'm stan stovall. thank you for joining us this morning. >> it is rating out right now. -- it is rating our right now -- it is raining.