this morning on "early today", a santorum sweep. rick santorum pulls off an unlikely double primary victory in the deep south. surprising survey. new poll numbers uncover at least one reason why americans would be willing to endure higher prices at the pump. and historic finish. 25eu-year-old becomes the youngest musher to win the 25eu-year-old becomes the youngest musher to win the iditarod dogsled race. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry.

today we begin with a surprise win. not a single major poll had rick santorum in the lead. but last night he did win the republican primary races in both states. in alabama, santorum came in with 35% of the vote. while newt gingrich and mitt romney each got 29%. in mississippi, santorum eeked out a closer victory with 33%. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on what this means for newt gingrich and mitt romney. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. despite what the polls were telling us 24 hours ago it should have been no surprise rick santorum won both states because they are packed with evangelical voters, and that's his crowd. >> we did it again. >> reporter: rick santorum won mississippi with a third of the vote and alabama with 35%. speaking from louisiana, where he promised another big win next week, santorum hinted newt gingrich should drop out of the

race. >> the time is now for conservatives to pull together. the time is now to make sure, to make sure that we have the best chance to win this election. >> reporter: gingrich came in second in both states and gave no indication he's quitting. instead, he focused on mitt romney's failure to win the conservative southern vote. >> the elite media's effort to convince the nation that mitt romney is inevitable just collapsed. if you're the front-runner, if you're the front-runner and you keep coming in third, you're not much of a front-runner. >> reporter: romney didn't give a speech last night. in a statement he congratulated santorum and claimed delegates from mississippi and alabama put him closer to the nomination. romney is focused on missouri. santorum won missouri's nonbinding primary last month but romney said straw polls don't count. >> we didn't participate in iowa

straw poll or florida straw poll. but when the delegates are at stake, that's when we go to work. >> reporter: keep in mind hawaii voted as well. we won with just over a third of the vote. santorum came in second. interestingly, ron paul came in three. newt gingrich was last. >> tracie potts for us in washington. thank you. well, defense secretary leon panetta is in afghanistan this morning. panetta is starting an unannounced two-day visit in the wake of the shooting of 16 afghan civilians. more information is now emerging about the u.s. soldier accused in the killings. when a military search party found the staff sergeant, who still hasn't been identified, and asked about the shooting he said, "i did it." the soldier had reportedly been having marital problems and recently got a troubling letter or e-mail from his wife. president obama promises a complete investigation of the killings, saying u.s. will treat the case as seriously as if

american citizens have been murdered. a new poll shows most americans would support u.s. military action against iran's nuclear program. the reuters/ipsis poll found 56% of americans say they would back u.s. military strikes if there was evidence iran was trying to build a nuclear weapon. and 62% of respondents said they would support israel if it took military action against iran for that reason. and when people were asked about supporting an attack even if it led to higher gas prices, 53% said they would. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. an ohio police officer is under investigation after his own dashboard camera showed him yanking a woman out of her mini van, throwing her to the ground and kneeling on her before arresting her. the alleged crime, running a stop sign. the officer later said he was trying to calm the situation after being pushed.

but prosecutors say the woman didn't even have a chance to act disorderly. in california, video shows a thief cleaning out store shelves filled with tide laundry detergent. the man loaded a shopping cart worth nearly $200. this is all part of a growing nationwide trend. no one really knows why. in maryland, auto the a mooving mystery. get it? mooving? some decorated large concrete statues of cows that stand outside the state department of agriculture. in past they have been dressed for christmas or to back the baltimore ravens. finally, a new orleans mom is making her 13-year-old girl wear a tee-shirt that reads, "hide your money, hide your clothes, hide everything because i'm a thief" after she was arrested for shoplifting. the girl said she understands the punishment is being done out

of love. tough love there. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. another growing trend. i think this is the third story this week that we have seen a parent sticking a kid in a tee-shirt to sort of shame them. i don't know. >> maybe parents are running out of ideas and they gave up. they're like, all right, i saw that on the news, let's try it. >> in the '8 0s it was grounding. what happened to that? >> the cherry blossoms are nearing the peak. temperatures already in the 70s. 75. the buds swelled up and popped. pretty incredible stuff around the country. this was just one example. there's examples of flowers, insects that are out way too early all across the country. here's yesterday's map of high temperatures. everything highlighted in the yellow and orange and red is at least the 60s, 70s, 80s.

it was 71 in boston. we were up near 70 in the northern plains. just incredible stuff. and there's no big cold fronts on the way. so nothing is really going to cool you off. you may get ocean breezes occasionally up in new england to cool you off a little bit if you're on the coast the next couple days, into the weekend. overall, the mild trend goes from the rockies to the east coast and everywhere in between. this morning it's 64 degrees. in the middle of the night in new york city. that's a summertime low. same for you in kansas city. look out, chicago. your temperatures are going to soar as we go throughout the day today. we should see you up somewhere near almost 80 degrees. that's a look at your national forecast. now here is a look at the weather outside your window. we're going to continue watching these incredible temperatures today. look at raleigh, north carolina, 82 degrees. cincinnati, 77. everyone is as warm as houston. no need to go on spring break this year i guess. temperatures not bad in salt lake city either. it's going to sound like a broken record.

it continues into the weekend, into next week. >> hey, bring it on. bill, thanks so much. stock surge, gaining up on china, and the end of an informational era. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, tough guy actor, sensitive director and now reality tv star? coming up, double overtime between the lakers and grizzlies. the craziest hockey goal of the year, and march mattedness begins with two remarkable comebacks. 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. the u.s. is reportedly considering giving the russians some secret data on american interceptor missiles in an effort to help protect europe from a missile attack by iran. the possible deal would have russian radar stations participate in the european missile defense system. israel has made military

strikes against gaza as the cease-fire along their border appears to be threatened. the attacks caused some damage but no serious casualties. the world's tallest man has finally stopped growing at 8'3". they surged surgery and medication to stop the excess of growth hormones that made him a giant. >> england's army chiefs banned prince harry from going to pubs and told him just to concentrate on his attack helicopter training if he wants to get a second tour in afghanistan. as you can see, harry is returning from his visit to commonwealth nations during which he was seen meeting several women and seemed to have a very good time. in alaska, dallas is the youngest winner ever of the iditarod shred dog race. the 25-year-old covered 1,100 miles from anchorage to nome in just over nine days. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day.

the dow opens at 13,177 after zooming up 217 points yesterday. the s&p jumped 24 points. nasdaq spiked 56. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei claimed 151 points, but in hong kong the hang seng lost 31. more signs of financial recovery and confidence gave markets their biggest gains of the year tuesday. a late surge was sparked by jpmorgan chase announcing it will buyback as much as $15 billion worth of stock. after the bell, all but four of 19 major u.s. banks got a clean bill of health from the federal reserve and permission to boost incentives. investors dumped shares of citigroup in late trade after learning the nation's third largest bank was among those that did not pass the fed's stress tests >> economic optimism pushed the nasdaq above 3,000 since the dot

com bubble burst in 2000. and adding to optimism a healthy increase in february's retail sales. urban outfitters was the exception, losing 5% on a weak earnings report. yesterday the u.s. asked the world trade organization to force china to ease restrictions on exports of raw materials. china's state-run news agency warned the move could trigger a backlash. former news international exec was released on bail for the second time yesterday in connection with an ongoing phone hacking scandal at the london tabloid. back here at home, the securities and exchange commission charged two amerprise financial advisers with insider trading one of them announced through alcoholics anonymous. finally, the end of an era.

the 2010 print edition of the iconic 32-volume set will be its last. coming up, orlando uses dwight howard's magic while they still can. lakers win in double overtime. and a pinball machine hockey goal. plus, byu makes comeback history in the first round of the ncaa basketball tournament. your early morning sports headlines are ahead. i'm here to remind everyone this is officially the last week of winter. it's not going to feel like it of course. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today".

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports, last night march madness kicked off in style with two big comeback victories. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. this is what march madness is all about. nothing was safe as they kicked off with two incredible comebacks. dayton, ohio, always a special event when the president and prime minister are on hand. mississippi state up 16. western kentucky came storming back. end of the game on a 22-5 run. they moved down 59-58 win and will play top-ranked kentucky tomorrow. if you like that comeback, you'll like this.

byu down 25 to iona and somehow, some way rallied the win. chipped away at the lead and wanted 76-70. they have marquette next. nba, bucs and warriors pulled off the first big trade before tomorrow's deadline. milwaukee sent jackson to golden state for shooting guard ellis. dwight howard a member of the magic. 24 points and 21 boards, the eighth time he had 20 and 20 this season. magic won it in overtime, 104-98. lakers and grizzlies didn't need just one overtime, they needed two. like the magic, they got a huge night from their big man. they won in double o.t., 116-111. chicago bears landed a pro bowl wide receiver. they traded for brandon marshall. finally, wild goal from the caps/islanders game.

the shot was tipped. hit the boards behind the net, off the goalie's stomach and in. without a doubt, one of the strangest goals you will ever see. they lost it, 5-4. that's your 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 demi moore can't kick, and ochocinco spends ocho thousands on fans. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, looking for something more than just your average american home? how about a whole town? you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today". there's no other way to put it, this is an early summer morning across the country. it's going to feel like that during the afternoon. we're talking late may, early june type temperatures. as warm as 78 in chicago. 70s and 80s all through about the lower half of the country. even into tomorrow, nothing much really changes. new england cools off a little bit. a few thunderstorms in the heartland. unprecedented warmth continues into the weekend. if you're watching wave 3 news in louisville, kentucky, explore the rise of street and social landscape photography at city streets at the speed art museum. that's your "early today" event of the day. >> all right, bill, thanks so much. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment.

now that she is reportedly finished rehab, a report says demi moore has one more habit she needs to kick. that would be ashton kutcher. chicago sun times reports while kutcher made it clear he's moved on with his life, moore is said to be obsessed with winning him back. the report says friends, her daughter, and even ex-husband bruce willis have all tried to make her realize kutcher isn't coming back. kind of sad. elsewhere, tmz reports nfl receiver chad ochocinco sent out a tweet offering a dinner to the first 200 people that showed up at sylvia's soul food restaurant in harlem. he spent 8,000 bucks on ribs, fried chicken, red velvet cupcakes. finally e! network announced tuesday, of all people, clint eastwood and family are coming to reality tv. mrs. eastwood and company will feature clint's wife since 1996, their 15-year-old daughter

morgan and 18-year-old francesca, eastwood's daughter with actress frances fisher. >> it wasn't his idea, of course? >> of course not. he's going to make guest appearances. he's not going to be the center of attention. he's no ozzy osbourne. that's a little strange. this comes to us from denver, colorado, in buford, wyoming the whole town can be yours for a price. it's america's smallest town, population one and it's now up for auction. after moving from los angeles 30 years ago, he's retiring. he's headed elsewhere. asking price for the one-time railroad town which includes a gas station and three bedroom home, is going to start at just $100,000. >> bargain. >> seriously. fire sale. 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. yesterday we had 80 degrees. we will be in the 70's today. it will be another fantastic day. we're in the upper 50's and low 60's. 62 at the airport. lots of sunshine today. high temperature between 73 and 78. we will come back and check the forecast going into the weekend. >> 4:56. 61 degrees on tv hill.

>> maryland republicans have an alternative budget and will outline the changes. >> gas his more than $4 a gallon in some parts of the state. details are next. >> more surprises in the gop race. the latest on primaries in the deep south. >> sarah caldwell checking on your morning commute. north on 95, t

for my terrible allergy congestion, i get the power of claritin-d. sinus pressure? nothing works stronger or faster than claritin-d. get non-drowsy claritin-d at the pharmacy counter. live claritin clear.

[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. >> happy hump day. you look adorable. >>