this morning on "early today," health care snachlgt republicans force another house vote on changes to health care legislation. tipping point. funding for social security becomes the latest casualty of nation's recession. and playing with fire. scientists get an up close look at iceland's erupting volcano. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry, and today we begin with no quick pass. senate republicans are marking at least a minor temporary

victory of sorts this morning after managing to throw a big curve ball at the democrats' push to finalize health care reform. the senate gop has successfully challenged some of the provisions in the fixes to the bill, meaning the action now must move back to the house for a final vote of approval. nbc's brooke hart joins us live this morning with the latest developments. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. this all happened an hour or so ago. they will take this up again today, but after striking down a number of gop amendments to this fixes package, this is phase two of the health care reform legislation, the republicans did succeed in scoring a minor victory as you said. they succeeded in having the parliamentarian strike out o provisions of the student loan program are part of the democrats' fixes packages, and by striking out anything, making

any change to this fixes measure, that means that the whole piece of legislation has to go back to the house for another contentious vote. now democrats in the house, aides are saying it's not likely to affect the ultimate outcome of this, that the measure is likely to pass the senate and the house, but it does throw in some uncertainty. the democrats wanted to avoid another house vote, but that looks likely to happen. nancy pelosi is keeping her members in town through friday just in case. thank you for that. well, while congress considers policy issues the public turmoil over health care has taken yet another ugly turn. the fbi is investigating a number of instances of vandalism and threats. nbc's kelly o'donnell filed this report last night. >> we have been meeting with the capitol police and the fbi, who

are obviously concerned as well. >> reporter: that sobering assessment from top house democrats after at least ten members of congress report threateni ining incidents. >> do you feel that your members are really at risk in terms of their security? >> yes. i think we've had very serious incidents that have occurred over the last 48 to 72 hours. >> reporter: from shattered glass blown out by a pellet gun to a brick thrown through the window. >> we had the local police and the sheriff were all in there working together on it. >> reporter: michigan democrat bart stupak released hate-filled phone messages. >> you and your family are scum. you ought to fill your pockets with lead and jump into the

potoc. >> reporter: this address had reportedly been reported on a conservative activists message with a message to stop by. it's connected to tactics by republicans to slow things down in the senate. >> the process that got us here has been ugly. >> reporter: republicans accuse democrats of ignoring the public. >> the arrogance is palpable, palable and inexcusable. >> reporter: anger and frustration vividly displayed and over the line. well, after eight months of high-level negotiations americans and russian officials have reached a historic deal to slash their nuclear arsenals. the treaty is seen as an important milestone in lowering the risk of nuclear proliferation. the two nations represent 90% of the world's nuclear weapons. the accord will replace the

strategic arms reduction treaty of 1991 also known as s.a.l.t. and also will have them reducing their launchers to the lowest levels. they're expected to sign off on the agreement next month in prague. now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. an internal investigation by the department revealed no wrongdoing on the part of the officer, however, the case has been reopened. two chicago men claim they were victims of a savage beating allegedly from several plain clothes officers. surveillce cameras captured part of the attack. the officers involved are under an investigation but remain on active duty. the individuals the suffered cuts and bruises and are filing a lawsuit.

a small plane made an emergency landing. the pilot was having engine trouble in his single-engine aircraft and wasn't able to reach the nearest airport. fortunately no one was injured. in the nati's capital the u.s. mint announced it's making some changes to your change. the first five quarters in the america the beautiful series has bun unveiled. it will roll out over the next 11 years. the first quarter depicting hot springs national park in arkansas will be released next month. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. bill, good morning to you. >> well, good morning to you, lynn. compared to what's going on newswise, the weather, nice and quiet around the country. we're not seeing any big stories out there. now we've just got a rainmaker moving through the tennessee valley and up toward chicago. this is where the damp weather is going to be through the day. much through arkansas. memphis is gng to get heavy

rain, chicago, houston, maybe a downpour or two. you can see rain tracking up through arkansas currently and we're seeing mississippi and alabama covering with rain. tallahassee to detroit. the east coast you'll be dry today. tomorrow's when the rain will arrive. in the middle of the nation we'll watch oklahoma city clearing out as the day goes on. the rockies looks just fine. that's a quick look at the weather forecast. now here a quick look outside your window. thunderstorms are possible today in nashville. we're not talking severe weather thankfully. maybe strong storms and gusty winds. indianapolis, light rain for you. 54. dallas, a cool 62. that's your thursday forecast, lynn. >> thank you. well, starbucks bubbles, honda sizzles, and man's best friend goes wireless. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus two more revelations,

two more big blows to the marriage of sandra bullock and jesse james. two more teams punch their way to the play-offs and the nets win. wait, what? yeah. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. social security is now at its brink. the new york tiemgs reports for the first time ever more money in social security benefits will be paid out than is received in payroll taxes. that wasn't expected to happen until 2016 at the early left. the supreme court stopped the execution of a den rolt inmate hours before he was scheduled to die. hank skinner had requested dna so testing could be done. he believes it will clear him of the 1995 slayings of his

girliend and her two sons. it's not guaranteed he'll get the testing. it just means they'll decide whether to look at his case. california voters will decide on marijuana legalization. they got enough petitioners to get it on the ballot. if approved they'll be the first state to approve legalization. and in iceland, scientists are getting an up-close look at a fiery volcano that started erupting this weekend. there are concerns it could trigger a more powerful volcano close by as it has in the past. fortunately right now there are no signs of that happens. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow owesed at 10,836. the s&p shed 6 points. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei went up 13 points.

in hong kong the hang seng tumbled 230 points. well, continues housing woes and worries yesterday set the dow to the biggest drop in a month. portugal's downgrade already reported a tense topic that several european countries are struggling to recover from a global recession. euro leaders are going to meet today on what to do. meanwhile steady growth in mving failed to offset an unskplekted drop in home sales. tumbling crude oil prices fueled a 1% drop in shares in chevron. caterpillar is predicting its bottom line will be hit hard by health care reform. the heavy equipment reform warns tax law changes will take a $100 million toll on its first fiscal quarter. general mills' first quarter earning shot up 15% thanks to americans eating home at more.

they reported strong sales of cheerios, hamburger helper and cookie dough. starbucks is back in the black and offering shareholders a piece of the pie. the coffee giant announced it will pay out a 10 cent dividend adding up to as much as 40% of its total profits. >> honda's hybrid crz is taking japan by storm and taking in new customers. 10,000 crz's have been ordered so far. half of which were brought by first-time honda customers. on the heels of google, censureship goals in china, godaddy.com has stopped registering names in that country. finally many of us have gpss in our phones and on our cars but in our dogs? >> that's right. at&t is hoping people will pay to put a wireless collar on tat

will sent a text message when the dog goes outside his designated area. tying ser going to talk more, and who else has made the nba play-offs. plus ron artest goes from kroug fighter to crowd pleaser. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. there's rain in the middle of the country and warm temperatures everywhere else. your regional forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning, i'm joe krebs. >> i'm pat lawson. ahead, republicans score a victory in the battle over health care reform. we'll tell you why the bill is heading back to the house of representatives. >> and the health care fight has taken on a terrifying tone. now the fbi is looking into real threats against lawmakers. >> police

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports last night two more teams earned a top spot in the play off. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all of your sports headlines. first stop is aanta. great finish between the magic and hawks. orlando down three with under 15 seconds to play when vince carter drills a three-ball to tie it at # 4. hawks with a chance for the win. joe johnson's shot is off the mark but josh smith comes out of nowhere to throw down the throwdown at the buzzer. 86-84. to boston, nuggets and celtics. j.r. smith lets it fly and hits

the buzzer beater. unfortunately that was the only high light for the celtics. paul pierce had a team-high of 278. they clinch apply-off spot. to san antonio, lakers and spurs. l.a.'s already in the play-offs but they didn't rest on their laurels. lakers up six and go on to win their seventh in a row, 92-83. >> and stop the presses. the nets won a game, crushing the kings. bruce with 26 points and 13 rebounds. the nets now need to win two of their last 11 games to avoid becoming the worst team in history. a quick golf note, tiger woods will conduct his first news conference on monday april 5 and don't be surprised if it's buried on page 2. that's the same day as college basketball's national championship and basall's opening day. finally mexico facing ice

land in a friendly, however nothing friendly about what happens to this fan. he runs on the field, thinks he's home-free and a security guard blind sides him with a tackle. chalk one up for the security guard. that's your early look at sports on "early today." today's heart teen hart tlob is in trouble over not tweeting when told to. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus when it comes to winning prizes and lotteries, luck helps but having a good neighbor is even more. you're watching "early today."

grab that umbrella if you head out the door this morning. from st. louis through springfield through peoria. light rain south of chicago currently. and indianapolis, you have a good chance of wet weather today also. here's how the forecast looks. the middle of the country, tennessee and ohio valleys, you need the umbrella as you head out the door. nothing too heavy, but you will see some rain. the eastern seaboard will be warm with clouds on the increase. if you're watching us on whdh 7 news in boston, walk among the free-flying residents of the butterfly garden filled with exotic plants and a variety of living butterflies from across the globe at the museum of science. that's your "early today" event of the day, lynn. thank you, bil and now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment.

slbts often get in trouble with the law, but it doesn't usually involving tweeting. well, yesterday the manager of teen heartthrob justin beaver was charged involving an appearance he madeast ar. it seems when the crowd of teenaged girls came to see the star bake unruly, the cops asked his fans to announce it was nceled. he waited an hour and a half. he says -- braun says he tweeted within seven minutes. he now faces a year in jail if convicted. well, if you're a jesse james fan hoping for the best, yesterday was not your day. first another tattooed stripper told "star" magazine she also had an affair during his marriage to sandra bullock. also yesterday he settled a sexual hair asment lawsuit for

over $7 million while married to bullock. this comes to us from south bend, indiana, where a nearby ligonier. one woman is very lucky and shee as she trashed measure. one day after ripping up a local flyer she got a phone call from her neighbor warning her it may have contained a winning ticket. she cysted throu sifted through. the special good neighbor will be getting a cut of the prize. i don't blame her. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station. 4:54 is our time right now.

47 degrees outside as we see some stars and clouds andhe moon above us. it looks like clouds may be winning out. good morning i'm joe krebs. >> i'm pat lawson muse. let's look at that forecast for this thursday in the nation's capital. good morning. >> hi, pat. welcome. good to see you. good morning, joe. starting off this thursday morning with a partly cloudy chilly. once again down into the 40s. 47 in washington. right now in montgomery and prince george's counties and arlington/fairfax counties, low to mid 40s. dipped down to the 30s in loudoun, frederick county and the panhandle of west virginia. southern maryland, around the bay, eastern shore, near the waters in the upper 40s. away from the waters, only in the 40s. quite a chilly start. we have a few clouds coming through. they'll be with us fro time to time.

a partly sunny d with afternoon highs climbing into the 60s. cloudy by late afternoon. rain likely tonight through tomorrow morning. chillier weather moving in for the weekend. now, jerry, how is the traffic. >> as we get under way, clear, dry road surfaces for the moment. along 95, traveling near the rest area, the weigh station, bothirections with travel lanes open. very quiet up to springfield. let's head over and see how we're doing. college park, both directions betwee greenbelt and silver spring off to an uneventful start. joe and pat, good morning. >> jerry, good to see you. >> here's a look at what's happening today. metro's board will meet to discuss a major overhaul of the agency's railcars. metro is expected to present a $2 billion plan that would include buying hundreds of new 7,000 series cars. the new cars would replace the old 1,000 series cars involved in last year's deadly metro crash. the driver who fired shots

at dump truck yesterday on southbound i-95 is due in court. 25-year-old gabriel povetund had his 2-year-old daughter in the car at the time. the dump truck driver, james bringal faces attempted second degree murder and reckless driving charges. president obama today is hitting the road to sell the health care reform plan. he is heading to iowa where he first outlined his plan in 2007. the president signed the health care bill into law on tuesday, but this morning republicans forced a change in the bill that sends it back to the house for final approval. the military's don't ask don't tell policy is about to undergro major changes. today robert gates is expected to announce he's relaxing the rules to allow a more humanitarian approach. under the rules, the military will no longer be allowed to dismiss gays because they have been outed by a third party against their will.

it's an important form that comes around once every ten years, and after ten years, the changes to the census form can be confusing. >> filling out your census form shouldn't mean having to rip out your hair. >> i'm not african-american, native american, i'm not white, and there is no other. >> reporter: carol says, for question 8 which asks about her origin she would check the box for hispanic. but question number 9 for race, doesn't offer the option of hispanic or latino. >> i'd have to mark the other and have to specify what i am and where my family comes from. >> reporter: that's the key. filling out the blank boxes with whatever term how you feel best describes how you describe yourself. >> you want to be counted. me, i'm east indian, born in fiji islands. i'll have a challenge on that. i'll have to put it down exactly where i'm from. >> there's certainly opportunities, as i understand

it, to influence what's on here. it's a paper created by human beings, right? >> reporter: vanessa moses is working to make sure people fill out their census forms correctly. she says it's okay to add your category by filling in the empty boxes if you feel you're not being represented. >> there are folks pushing for folks to put queer on the census in order to capture that. that's a piece of demographic information that is not being captured. >> reporter: carol and her family say they plan to fill in plenty of blanks, because in their family, nothing is just blacand white. >> how will you fill it out for your daughter? >> fill in education, where she is, don't leave out nothing. >> she's kind of everything. she's all of the above. so i put all of the above. i will mark everything that she is because she needs to be counted for all that she is. and this year, the census reflects the largest number of multiracial residents in u.s. history. more than 5.5 million at last count. it's the fastesow