this morning on "early today," political star power. president obama pulls out his aides as he pulls up his re-election bridge. an out of control van careens off a new york city highway. and a grade leap forward. a spectacular nighttime launch marks another space accomplishment by china. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and a very good morning to you. i'm veronica de la cruz. today we begin with a campaign contribution. president obama has called on former president bill clinton to

help him with fund raising and his re-election effort against republican challenger mitt romney. tracie potts joins us this morning. good morning to you. there was a private fund raiser last night and that's important because president obama in the 2008 campaign won virginia. he was the first democrat to do so in 44 years. but things there have gotten tougher since for democrats. he's also got president clinton in the new ad talking about the death of osama bin laden where the former president said he took the harder honorable path of going after him. a new "time" magazine article mentions that vice president biden didn't agree with the decision at the time. that ad is turning political itself. mitt romney and republicans are saying it's not fair game, the president is politicizing it was a national event, calls it a

political devisive atact. they're likely to get even sharper as this week newt gingrich drops out of the campaign. that's expected to happen on wednesday. veronica? >> tracie potts in washington. tracci tracie, thank you. washington is attempting to clear up something in china. a blind dissident is under protection at the u.s. embassy in beijing. legal activist had been under house arrest for opposing china's use of force sterilizations and abortions while enforcing its so-called one-child policies. both are eager to reach an agreement as to hit fate before high stakes talk begins with secretary hillary clinton on thursday. seven people including three children were killed when their van plunged off an elevated

parkway and landed on the grounds of the famous bronx zu. jonathan vigliotti of wnbc new york has details. >> reporter: the dense wooded areas of the brojs zoo hides the tragic scene. >> sometimes you come to convenients that are horrific and this was one of them. >> reporter: the deputy chief ronald warner said when crews finally made it through a thick oeft weeds, trees and vines, they found a van upside down completely crushed. inside, seven people, the young echlt, an infant, the oldest, 84. none of them made it out of the urban process alive. police say that van was heading southbound on the bronx river parkway when it somehow lost control, hit the median and took the fatal plunge. >> it travelled over the railing a distance of 75, 80 feet before it came down and hit the ground.

it fell a hundred feet from the overpass. >> reporter: zoo officials say the van landed near a remote area. at no point, they say, were visitors, staff, or animals in harm's way. still this chilling accident has reached everyone in this corner of the bronx among the cheerful sound of a weekend ice cream truck, you hear passers bigasp, wondering what went wrong. now here's a look at other news making news early today in america. in colorado, chilling video of a store clerk shot in the arm during a hold-up. somehow the victim was able to stay calm, even opening the cash register for the two robbers after being wounded. the gunman then fired even more shots panicked customers inside. the clerk is recovering. no arrests have been made. in southern california a wayward dolphin has become stranded in a wetlands channel. he may have been chasing some fish from the pacific ocean when

it became disoriented and started swimming in circles. experts say if it can't figure it way out soon or have high tide push it out to sea, they'll use a harness to get it done. over the weekend churchill downs had to suspend racing when storms brought down hail. the kentucky derby is a few days off. it caused power outages and damaged cars. finally, check this out. talk about going green. a high school junior used the tabs off cans of soda to create her dress for the prom. more than 5,000 tabs were used to assemble the aluminum gown. no, she wares she didn't drink all of those sodas herself. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. can you imagine having to pass through security in a metal dress. >> it looks beautiful. >> it's a beautiful gown.

she'd win project runway for sure. >> someone would hire her. someone will. good morning, everyone. nasty storm this morning. we've had thousands of lightning strikes over the hour. over the last hour, almost 14,500 light nij striengs and a lot of them are here in northern oklahoma and right through the heart of central missouri, kind of almost parallel to the north side of interstate 44. as of now, they're just to the north of st. louis, sliding now. some very strong storms into southern and central illinois and tulsa to oklahoma city. all of this region has been a nightmare already with the thunder and lightning and flash flooding. you're going to see more. slow moving thunderstorms along this kind of stalled out frontal system. it will push south. heavy rain over the weekend. just a light cooler rain up here to the north. so who's aet a threat for more

severe weather. the ohio valley. once again, lexington, cleveland, pittsburgh, right through columbus and another area from oklahoma and west texas and north texas, even a few tornados. not a tornado outbreak but a lot of storms. that's a look at your national forecast. now here ee a look at the weather outside your window. there's that threat of strong storms with gusty winds and hail through the ohio valley including areas like indianapolis. i don't think you have much of a tornado threat in the ohio valley, but those thunderstorms will contain also torrential rains and the possibility of flash flooding. so i think that's to be expected as we head into may. this is the active part of our tornado season and severe weather season. >> we're not supposed to talk to each other unless you bring good weather news. the economy stutters, airfares soar, and do we really need another titanic?

your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus once again your blockbuster news comes from yoef seas. we'll tell you about that next. rejection, a playoff come back and a performance fit for the record books. you're watching "early today."

a very good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm veronica de la cruz. here are some of your top stories. there was a shooting on a church cam pill kissed 16, wounding at least 22. meanwhile in another part of a country an attack lest five dead. a 59-year-old hiker survived four days in the desert with a broken leg and no food and shelter. she credits the outdoors and me call experience for her survival. she's expected to make a full recovery. residents near the london

olympic park are told air missiles may be placed on their rooftops during the summer olympic games. it will be the first missiles deployed since world war ii. a times launch in china as the country sent up a pair of navigation satellites part of an independently global built navigation system. and now here's an early look at one of your top health headlines on msnbc.com. a new study sends a warning to teens. half the teens who have diabetes fail in their attempts to control it. a study found those who develop it, the most effective way to thanks for watching "early jooirksz at msnbc.com. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day.

the dow opens at 13,228 after add 2g 3 points friday. the s&p was up 3. the nasdaq gained 18. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei was closed today for a holiday, but in hong kong the hang seng jumped 352. well, stocks may get a bump today on speculation weaker than expected economic growth may prompt the federal reserve to act. friday's gross domestic product data shows overall government spending cuts slowed down the economy in the first quarter. still u.s. markets finished slightly higher with the dow gaining just barely enough to return to positive territory for the most of april. hong kong shares rose today led by chinese banks posting quarterly profit growth with the hang seng poised in the black after a slide of over 5% in march. elsewhere airfares are headed up this summer with domestic ticket prices about 3% higher than they were last year and international fares are 20%

higher than two years ago. in spain, thousands protested yesterday against cuts to help an education services as the government tries to fight the debt crisis that has sent its economy back into recession. nokia once the world's biggest seller of mobile phones is now falling farther behind than apple and samsung with sales falling 16% in the first quart jeer and 100 years after the sinking of the titanic, there's are plans to build a 21st version of the luxury ocean liner by 2016. one of the richest men in australia announced he will build titan 2ik in china but with bag changes below the waterline to make it more fuel efficient and safer. the clippers done the grez lease, the flyers scorches the devils in overtime. plus tensions rise in atlanta as a boston celtic is ejected for bumping the ref. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. it looks like the start of

may is going to be like the end of april. very stormy. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

hey, there. a very good morning to you. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports a record-breaking playoff performance yesterday by a los angeles laker, but

probably not the l.a. laker you're thinking. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. hi, there. good morning. the opening sunday of the nba playoffs had just about everything, an ejection, a stunning comeback, and a bit of history. to los angeles where andrew bynum host add block party and nba record-tying ten blocks and when he wasn't swatting everything in sight, he was pulling down 13 boards, rounding out the triple-double with ten points. lakers beat the nuggets in game one 1rks 03-88. l.a.'s other team had to rally from 27 down against the grizzlies, nick young sparking the comeback with a flurry of three-pointers. final seconds, memphis down one. rue die gay for the win but he can't get it to fall. clippers end the game on a remarkable 28-3 run and absolutely stun the grizzlies, 99-98. to tlarn the celtics without ray allen and they could have used him. hawks up at 14 at the half. frustration boiling over in the final minutes. rajon rondo bumps a ref.

that's a no-no. he's tossed. spurs quietly doing their thing against the jazz. tony parker looking more like peter parker, an acrobatic move fit for spider-man himself. they win 96-81. this might be the weirdest goal of the season. coyotes and predators. key your eye on 11 in white. the puck goes in the air, he catches it throws it over the net and right to radim very bat ta. he scores to give them the lead. phoenix wins, 5-3. finally how about overteam redemption frmg dan ya briere scores what appears to be the game-winner. but take a another look. the puck goes off his skate. they review it and say he kicked the puck. that's a goal in soccer but that's a goal. that's a goal in any sport, briere can celebrate and so can the flyers. they win, 4-3 in o.t. and that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. new challenge for the box

office or can sell each other out? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, he's fighting for his life, but that hasn't stopped him from thinking on others. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." an update on some of the severe weather. we have flash flooding ongoing right now on the border of oklahoma, kansas, central missouri. later today, additional

thunderstorms from wichita to oak, lubbock and amarillo. maybe isolated tornadoes. late this afternoon, louisville to indianapolis, kplum bus, cleveland, pittsburgh, southern illinois, you're all under the threat of veer storms during the day today. also we've got rain down in miami. we got drenched the weekend and we have additional wet weather up here in montana and nosh portions of the northwest. if you're watching us on waev, norfolk, virginia, bring your bicycle for an've ride through 12 mile of blossoming foliage. that sounds nice at bike nights at botanical garden. and that's your early. veronica. and now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. for the second team. it would slump it. think like a man to earn 18 to grab number one finish. in another upset the animated fill.

"band of pirates" opened to take second. zac efron's "the lucky one" did better than expected taking in $11 million to finish third. but the producer's "five-year engagement" clunked earning just over $11 million. under performing with 7 $.7 million. as did john cusack's the rairch with $7.3 million. the avengers opening next friday, but it's already had a superhero foreign debut, earning over $178 million. it finished number one in all 39 markets. it opened and notched the biggest opening weekend ever in 12 markets. wow. >> i mean it's -- aye, may. may starts tomorrow. may is the season nr blockbuster especially as we head toward memorial day weekend. >> i'm disappointed in the jed

app a toe film. >> you thought it was going do that well? >> i didn't but i was hoping. this now comes to us from ktuu channel 2 news in anchorage, alaska, where a little boy who's battling leukemia is not only brave but also generous. before heading out to disneyland he said hae wanted do volunteering and that's exactly what he did, serving food to other kids that provides free meals to children. he said he wanted to give back after so many people had been there for him, saving the last plate for himself. cute. i'm veronica de la cruz. 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. after a clear weekend, we will keep that trend going. it will feel like summer by the end of the week. let's look at the current conditions. partly cloudy skies. no rain to contend with. 41 in frederick. increasing clouds. there could be some sprinkles late in the afternoon. high temperature of 65. we will check the seven-day forecast going all the way into the weekend. >> 4:57. 47 degrees on tv hill. >> a new ruling regarding pit

bull attacks is raising concerns by some owners. >> the second defendant in the robocalls case is set go on trial today. >> i am tracie potts in washington. the latest in politics is next. >> sarah caldwell checking on your morning commute. tracking an accident along baltimore national pike with al

[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. thanks for joining us for 11 news today. >> it was a little cold this weekend. >> we will break out of that trend and it will feel like summer. today will be a little on the cool side. take a light jacket with you. take a light jacket with you.