. >> this morning on "early today," decision day. mitt romney scores primary wins in three states. the senate's longest serving republican is ousted by a tea party rival. road hazard, video captures a shocking hit and run in new york state. bidding frenzy, a 1961 abstract painting shattered con tem important ear art records at auction. captions paid for by nbc-universal television this is "early today" for wednesday, may 9th, 2012. hello, good morning, i'm lynn berry. today we begin with tuesday's take aways. >> a three-state sweep for mitt romney was no big surprise but a

major incumbent upset in indiana and referendum on same sex marriage in the south could provide some insight on the issues ahead of elections this fall. tracie potts joins us from washington with more on that, tray sooe, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. no big surprise, mitt romney is 63 delegates closer to winning the nomination after picking up wins in indiana, west virginia and north carolina. he campaigned in michigan yesterday. but in a couple of other votes it pit conservatives versus moderates in the republican party, in indiana, we saw the longest serving republican in the senate lose his seat after 36 years. dick lugar is out, losing to a candidate backed by the tea party, treasurer richard mourdock. in north carolina, the issue of gay marriage on the ballot, looks like the initiative to define marriage between one man and one woman won by 58%.

that would be the 30th state to implement such a ban. in wisconsin, this race that has garnered attention because of union rights, governor scott walker has a democratic challenger, milwaukee mayor tom barrett, they will face-off in the recall election june 5th. tray sooe potts, thank you. on capitol hill, for once democrats and republicans agree on something. low interest rates for millions of college loans, but unfortunately they can't agree how to pay for it. senate republicans blocked a democratic proposal that would keep interest rates at 3.4% by closing a loophole allowing stock holders to avoid payroll taxes. republicans want to keep it down by diverting money set aside for the new health care law. without an agreement by july 1st, interest rates will double to 6.8%. new details emerging on the terror plot disrupted in yemen. for the first time the cia had

an operative inside al qaeda it apts the u.s. was equipped to deal with the threat of a new underwear bomb. nbc's sve handelsman has the story. >> reporter: the full body scanners probably would have picked up the latest al qaeda bomb. >> i think, all things considered, yes, in high likelihood it would have been detected. >> reporter: the fbi is analyzing the device. the next version of the underwear bomb that fizzled in 2009 worn by al qaeda terrorist, umar farouk abdulmutallab. >> they are adapting and we see just between the last underwear bomb and this one increase in the sophistication of the device they are using. >> reporter: the cia is adapting in yemen, scoring a huge coup, where al qaeda is the most active. >> we don't have to worry about the ied or would-be bomber.

>> reporter: >> reporter: sources say the bomber was never a worry. infiltrating al qaeda would be a breakthrough. >> this is time we have been trying to do a long time, these methods of collecting intelligence are the crown jewels of disrupting the plots. >> reporter: the same source helped target a u.s. drone. officials tell nbc news, that killed the head of al qaeda on sunday. administration officials are feeling good. >> since 9-11, and not one plane has been brought down. by a terrorist. >> reporter: steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. a look at other stories making news, in colorado amazing video of a motorcyclist who survived after a car slammed into him, just unreal there, police say the car ran a red light, other views show the motorcycle rider upside down in

mid-air, just from the force of the impact. he had to undergo a number of surgeries in the days following the crash. in new york, another car plowed in people in buffalo including a teenager sent flying. police say the driver didn't even stop, the victim is now out of the hospital and 19-year-old accused of being behind the wheel is under arrest. in oregon, a life saved with only seconds to spare. a sheriff's deputy grabbed a suicidal man as he was about to jump off the bridge. the deputy and his partner quickly restrained the man, they had caught up to him moments earlier after getting a report he might try to kill himself. and finally, in florida not everyone had a happy easter, like this guy. the yellow rat snack, swallowed a ser ammic easter egg left out for a holiday hunt. the egg could be seen bulging from the snake's mid-section. a vet performed surgery on the snake and it worked.

the little guy is now all stitched up and ready to start slithering once again and terrifying everybody. now for a look at national and regional weather, here is bill karins. he has your weather channel forecast. good morning, bill. >> may sound weird throwing an easter story in, i finish mid chocolate rabbit yesterday. >> was it a little stale? >> no, it was wrapped up. >> okay. >> a bite every single day. good morning, everyone not much going on in the weather world, we just have rain that will be exiting off the east coast during the day today, here is the set-up out there across the country, high pressure dominates the middle of the nation, beautiful weather today in kansas, northward through the plains, chicago looks good. showers in michigan late this afternoon as far as rainy weather goes, really right on the immediate coast, i'm talking from cape cod during the mid-atlantic, we will see rain developing along the mexico-texas border during the day at any point.

in the southeast, still humid air mass remains with weak storm system around you will spark a lot of afternoon storms. the radar you can see right along the coast. cape cod down through southern rhode island, long island, new jersey, down through maryland, delaware coastal areas, will have a wet morning commute. looks like around philadelphia we have a little patch of light rain heading over you, that head toward new york city throughout the next hour. the forecast today, middle of the country, fantastic. but the southeast afternoon thunderstorms, there that is light rain along i-95 this morning. that is a look at the national forecast. here is a look at the weather outside your window. chicago, today will start off sunny, clouds this afternoon. by your standards that is a chilly day, only high in the upper 50s to low 60s. memphis gorgeous today, high in the upper 70s, low humidity. so as we have been advertising, gloomy middle of the week for the east coast, clear it out for

the nice weekend. mother's day weekend. mcdonald's disappoints. job posts jump. for one unemployed man it paid to advertise. your "early today" business headlines are straight ahead. plus brad pitt gets big bucks to be the main spokesperson for a woman's product. coming up, five elimination games in the nba and nhl playoffs and unforgettable night for josh hamilton. you're watching "early today."

good morning welcome back to "early today" i'm lynn berry. here are some of the top headlines this morning. at the trial of former presidential candidate john edwards, a former speech writer testified edwards told her he knew a wealthy donor was supporting his pregnant mistress. edwards denied knowing about the payments. a judge in chicago blocked enforcement of an eavesdropping law that could send people to jail for 15 years if they record

audio of a police officer without permission. activists challenged the law because of concerns that protesters at this month's nato sum it could be jailed for using smart phone to record police responding to demonstrations. parole has been denied for a sixth time for the serial killer known as the son of sam. david berkowitz terrorized new york city in 1976 and '77 and was convicted of killing six people. and a new record has been set for a work of contemporary art at a new york auction. the 1961 abstract painting "orange red and yellow" sold for almost $87 million. hard to believe. here is an early look how wall street will kick off the day. dow opens at 12,932 after losing 76 points. s&p shed five points, nasdaq down 11. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo

the nikkei dropped 136 points while in hong kong the hang seng dipped 154. after months of watching greece struggle to stay a float, fears of a financial disaster resurfaced. stocks suffered most of the day after a leader put the international bail out at risk saying the country is under no obligation to live up to promised austerity measures. weak same store sales from mcdonalds added to the cautious tone. accessories maker fossil tumbled 38% after slashing forecasts. oil prices fell below $97 a barrel in the wake of an unexpected jump in u.s. crude supplies. on the bright side, the labor department reports u.s. job postings hit a nearly four year high in march. fuelling hope for improvement in future employment reports. green mountain coffee demoted their chairman and lead

director, both made stock sales after a recent price plunge despite a company ban against doing so. more fall-out from the resume inaccuracy, dogging yahoo's new ceo. the company launched an investigation and the board member who led his hiring committee says she will not seek reelection to the board. bank of america is sending knowities to 200,000 customers who may have their mortgage reduced by an average 30% thanks to a national settlement. keep an eye today on disney, after the bell the company posted impressive second quarter earnings. and congratulations to one enterprising young man from indianapolis who put his face on a billboard to find a job. his $300 investment did land him a job in sales and marketing. sounds like it worked out perfectly. the nuggets stay alive, the bulls stop the sixers and devils eliminate the bullies. a slugfest in baltimore as one texas ranger makes major

league history. your "early today" sports headlines are straight ahead. i know it's a few days away the mother's day forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning if you're just waking up this is "early today." in sports, both pro

basketball and hockey last night was a moment of truth for several play-off teams. here is nbc's fred roggin with a look at the sports headlines. good morning. it was elimination night in the nba and nhl playoffs by possible close out games we will get to it and start in indy. magic didn't go down without a fight, played their hearts out for three quarters. nelson had 27. the pacers switched gears in the fourth outscored orlando by 20. indy advance 105-87, that is likely stan van gundy's game as magic coach. the hawks live to play another game. al horford led with 19. bucket gave atlanta four point lead. celts had a chance. rondo lost the ball, that is the game. the hawks escaped 87-86. no derrick rose, no joakim noah, bulls got it done with the

defense. held the sixers to 26 in the first half. chicago avoided elimination with the 77-69 win. in los angeles, lakers rallied from 15 down, couldn't get over the hump. kobe bryant's jumper off the mark. sessions with another shot couldn't get it to fall. despite 43 from bryant, denver won 102-99. the ice, devils and flyers, both team tried to set the tone early. number of huge hits in the opening period. the goal sumd up the series for philadelphia. bryzgalov ricochetted in. devil eliminates the flyers. they have the rangers or caps in the finals. josh hamilton slugged his way in the record books. four home runs in baltimore, 16th player in baseball history to pull off such a feat. in perspective, more perfect games pitched than four home run games. he beat the orioles 10-3. that is the early look at

sports on "early today" i'm fred roggin. celebrities turned life savers. more trouble for john tra voe take, the entertainment headlines are ahead. plus, no, you are not seeing things, this may be the future. cars that drive themselves. you're watching "early today."

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>> welcome back to "early today." if you're on the east coast grab the umbrella. long island through jersey, afternoon thunderstorms in the southeast. heavy rains in texas. taking a jump forward to mother's day the onl areas i'm concerned about are possible rain out along the gulf, louisiana, mississippi, alabama, maybe tennessee, we'll keep you update and tweet the forecast as mother's day approaches. if you're watching us on whdh 7 news in boston, enjoy rides at the lin carnival, that is too many lynns, that is the early event day of the day. >> did you write that? >> i'm going to try to do that. >> could we do billarica soon? early look at headlines in entertainment.

celebrities seem to be getting caught up in the super hero spirit lately. tmz reports mila kunis helped a 50-year-old employee at her home survive a violent seizure saturday. the 28-year-old took charge, grabbing the man's head turning it to the side so he wouldn't choke, she even volunteered to ride in the ambulance. >> good job. >> a man had a heart attack while jogging in london, he said dustin hoffman helped save his life. he saw it happened, was concerned and stayed with the man throughout the treatment. elsewhere, a second ma sure filed suit against john travolta making similar claims of unwanted sexual advances. he is seeking $2 million and it is represented by the same lawyer as the first masseur, travolta's legal team will sue the man after having the suit thrown out. >> and no further ma sages. e-news reports brad pitt has

signed a seven figure -- las vegas is driving in the future. they issued the first license plate meant for just autonomous vehicles, comes after google began testing cars that could drive themselves, using a laser radar to navigate. the new plates come with an infinity symbol on the left but don't plan on ordering a set any time soon, self-driving cars are not being sold at your local dealerships, at least not yet. ♪ that is my future sound. 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 starting out with some rain in some neighborhoods. it is that heavy rain but any rain will cause some traffic delay. we have some light showers going up 95 through harford and cecil counties. we're starting out with temperatures in the mid 60's. a chance for a few off and on showers or thunderstorms. it would not be a steady rain. we'll come back and check the forecast going into a mother's day weekend. >> 65 degrees on tv hill.

tsa agents confiscate a weapon from somebody's carry-on luggage for the second time this week. >> a surprising turn in the al qaeda scheme to block a u.s. plane. details are coming up. >> police are investigating a string of break-ins and they believe they're all connected. >> we're dealing with some rain >> we're dealing with some rain this m [ male announcer ] if you have yet to master the quiet sneeze...

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[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. >> even a little bit of rain can set things back a little bit. set things back a little bit.