this morning, on "early today," crude reality. americans brace for more pain at the pump as gas prices skyrocket. lucky to be alive. a 9-year-old philadelphia girl survives a harrowing hit and run on her bicycle. weird science. a dutch lab uses stem cells to grow the world's first test tube burger. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello. good morning. i'm lynn berry. iran halted crude export to

britain and france. american drivers are feeling the pain at the pump as gasoline prices have reached historic high for this time of year. nbc's michelle franzen reports. >> reporter: if you're feeling the pinch on your wallet every time you fill up the tank. >> it's definitely hurt me in the pocket. >> you're not alone. >> i can't afford it you have to buy gas to get around. >> reporter: gas prices at an all-time high for this time of year. the average price for a gallon of regular is $3.56 and eating into monthly budgets. >> takes $120 to fill up my truck. >> reporter: supply issues due to refinery problems on the east coast and ongoing klves conflicts in oil rich countries. >> the geo politics in the middle east causing a psychology of fear about future supply has probably never been greater and we don't know from week to week,

how bad it could get. >> reporter: iran doesn't sell oil to the u.s. but it could cause the european countries to turn to u.s. suppliers and that could drive prices up for $4 and beyond by memorial day. >> americans feel sick to their stomach when they see that. it impacts their purchases that they make. so if gas prices go up even further, it's likely we will see a dent in the economy. >> reporter: some consumers are already making adjustments. >> i think you do think twice about making a round trip to the grocery store. >> reporter: thinking twice and cutting back where they can. michelle franzen, nbc news, new york. the republican primary in michigan is a week from today. mitt romney's home state has become a battleground for rick santorum who is leading in the polls. but could some of santorum's recent controversial statements lead to a romney comeback? nbc's tracy potts joins us from washington with those details.

>> lynn, good morning. >> reporter: santorum is leading in the polls in michigan right now and hoping to hold on to that for the next week. hoping to focus on that. but, instead, he has been explaining his comments about a phony theology. after a day explaining his phony theology remark last night, rick santorum refocused on an issue hitting midwesterners hard this time of the year, gas prices. >> reporter: the white house announced a deal to drill along the border with mexico and now getting an idea how much the candidates are working with. romney raised $6.5 million last month but told ohio santorum is spending too much in washington. >> when republicans go to washington and spend like democrats, you're going to have a lot of spending and that is what we have seen over the last several years. >> reporter: gingrich earned over $5.5 million, like

santorum, he focused on social issues forcing catholics to pay for birth control. >> the president will one religion to break its beliefs ordering another religion to break its beliefs and order any american to do anything because they believe they are the center of power and that is wrong. >> reporter: gingrich's fund-raising doesn't seem to be helping his chances in michigan. last month, he spent more than he took in. and speaking of money. speaking of spending. we're finding out that the real money in this campaign is with those super pacs, the groups supporting the candidates, turned out in january, they actually raised more than the candidates themselves. >> tracy potts for us in washington, thank you. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. in philadelphia, a driver has surrendered after hitting a 9-year-old girl with her car and then just taking off. surveillance video shows the child trying to cross the street on her bicycle.

and then jumping off the bike and making a run for it. that's when the car veered toward her knocking her onto the sidewalk. fortunately, the girl sustained only minor injuries. near boston a store clerk credited with saving two people from a house fire. he saw the flames and ran down the street and dashed into the burning home to make sure everyone escaped okay. the home was destroyed. in texas, high winds were stronger than a big rig could handle. the semi truck flipped on to its side along i-27. the winds creating miserable conditions tearing into roofs and taking out tree branches and even bending the arm of a railroad crossing. and mardi gras is about to hit a fever pitch in new orleans. after days of parades and ceremonies it is finally fat tuesday. will farrell served as king backus at one parade on sunday and in heart of it all, the

french quarter they are making sure everything is ready from beads to beer. it's chilling. new orleans takes in nearly $150 million a year from all of the fun which i'm sure has already begun. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is meteorologist bill karins with a look at the forecast. no doubt. >> if i go back to my 20s, i wish i had done mardi gras. >> what i would do with a time machine. let's go back there anyways. >> i think loa lot of of us mig do. mardi gras temperatures pretty mild today and add to the fun and festivities. a storm system through the northern plains and picked up an inch or two in many areas in minnesota and the late portions of yesterday through the overnight. looking into light rain for areas of illinois and indiana and chicago, going to be a little bit of wintry mix. you will see some snowflakes introduce throughout the morning but temperatures warm justify

that it will be just fine. eastern seaboard increasing clouds during the day and weak ms system in the middle and clearing it out for a nice stretch of weather in the central plains. the white on the map is the snow. still snow showers, especially heading out of minneapolis here into northern minnesota and notice a little bit of snow outside of chicago and mix in throughout the day. looks like snow showers changing over probably to some light rain. temperature wise, 39 in chicago and why i'm not worried about the roads. forecast wise east coast enjoy a nice, dry, warm day. that's a look at the national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. indianapolis today, mild. chance of light rain. 47 degrees. milwaukee, you'll have that wintry mix and same with chicago and starting off with snowflakes and changing to rain showers. dallas, up near 70. a nice day. mild air, that is the word of the week.

>> mild air. that's been the word of the winter. bill, thank you. coming up, greece gets bailed out again. amazon scores big with customers. and why you should always follow the rules. at least when it comes to home construction. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, together again? like it or not, rihanna and chris brown reunite in a musical sense. coming up, carammelo anthon return to the knicks and albert pujols talks about leaving st. louis and manny ramirez, he's back! you're watching "early today."

good morning. welcome back. i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. things could be getting worse in syria despite a red cross appeal for a cease-fire to treat the wound.

video from social media claims to show new shelling in hams and overnight act take sifts saying they opened up fire on damascus. a visit to cairo, john mccain says a massacre is taking place in syria and trying to find a way to arm syrian rebels. as the senior iranian lawmakers denounced u.s. calls for arming the u.s. syrian opposition. john glenn was honoreded last night after the first american restaurant to orbit the space 50 years ago. and do not look for this at your local burger joint. researchers in the netherlands are working on a test tube hamburger patty made out of stem

cells and if it doesn't look tasty, the price won't be appealing either. they hope to sell the patty for $350,000. not sure who is in the market for that. now here is an "early" look now here is an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the nas take taking a look at overseas trading this morning. the nikkei down 22 points and in hong kong, the hang seng gained 53. investors return from the long weekend to the end of uncertainty. about a second greek bailout. after a marathon 12-hour session in brussels, euro zone agreed on a deal this morning. it keeps greece out of default the immediate future. reaction from asian markets was muted as analysts remain skeptical about a long-term fix for greece's financial

situation. samsung electronics bucked the downward trend rising nearly 1%. san francisco based construction giant urs has offered a 1.25 billion in cash to buy flint energy services. a new survey finds consumer satisfaction improved slightly last year. specialty stores such as office supply, home goods and clothing retailers scored the highest marks. but online retailers brick out brick and mortars in overall satisfaction with amazon.com taking the top spot. finally, home builders beware. a michigan court has ordered a couple to demolish all or part of their million dollar home because the structure was built 80 feet from the neighbor's property instead of the qiredred

100. coming up, the a's make a surprise edition and the results are different this time around as the nets get another shot at the knicks and their harvard sensation. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. typically, i'd be telling you how to get a break from our harsh winter. it will feel like spring but that's how it's been all went, hasn't it? your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, coming off a big win against dallas and the long awaited return of carmelo anthony, the knicks had no time to get it together against the nets. here is fred roggin with an early look at all of your sports headlines. good morning. jeremy lin's rise with the knicks coincided with carmelo anthony's absence after missing seven games with a groin injury, carmelo turned to the lineup and everybody in new york would see how they would mesh. madison square garden. knicks and nets. jeremy lin knocks down the three in the second quarter. 21 points and 9 snis faassists for lin. on target from beyond the arc, next time down the court he did the same thing and might as well

have been the dagger. 38 for williams and nets beat the knicks 100-92. two want game, final seconds. richard jefferson from downtown. spurs win their 11th straight and 106-102. baseball team beginning to report to spring training and includes albert pujols who left strl for anaheim. pujols says he has no regrets. >> there were some great moments. i was able to accomplish two world series and an experience i want to bring to the city, you know, to anaheim and to this ball club and, hopefully, have probably better years than i had in st. louis and hopefully more championships. manny ramirez signed one-year minor league deal with oakla oakland. he has to serve 50-game suspension for his second suspension for the baseball's drug policy. johnson drove the length of the court and laid it up and tied it but connecticut came

right back. napier pulled up from inside half-court and nailed it. the game winner for the defending champs. uconn won a thriller 73-70. >> that is your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. lindsay lohan lost in the role of a lifetime. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, a heart-warming welcome home in tampa for one of the nation's bravest. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. we are watching light rain and bring the umbrella with you this morning in areas of illinois, indiana, ohio and michigan too. i know you have snow out there this morning in areas of wisconsin but that is the worst of it. east coast is dry today. temperatures will be about 5 to 10 degrees warmer than it was yesterday. middle of the country, no problems whatsoever. definitely not as windy as it was yesterday either. as we look to wednesday, a little strip of snow is going to be coming down through the northern plains. we will watch that in areas like minneapolis but temperatures warm-up it shouldn't cause too much of an issue on the roads. if you're watching on wwlt in springfield, massachusetts, use beads, feathers and sparkles to create a sparkle for your mardi gras celebration at the mardi gras mass. that is your "early today" event of the today. here is an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment.

chris brown and rihanna has united in twitter. the former couple exchanged tweets yesterday when he wished her a happy birthday and then she thanked him. they also released collaborated remixes of two of their songs. it's one of the first times the pair have addressed each other via twitter since brown's infamous 2009 pregrammy assault on her. a study of academy award awart voters it's not a divorce group that hands out the honors. the "los angeles times" found 94% of the academy's voting percentage are white and 77% are french. access hollywood confirmed that lindsay lohan to play elizabeth taylor in a made for tv movie about her stormy romance with actor richard burton. could we be turning a corner? >> when you're face down in the

mud, you have to get up. >> eventually. dust yourself off. >> very curious about this "snl" appearance. this will be interesting. wfla in tampa, florida, u.s. marine got a hero's welcome. he arrived to the cheers of hundreds of people. it marked just another milestone in his road back from a bomb blast in afghanistan that cost him both of his legs and part of his left arm. mp since then, the 22-year-old has been on a brave, difficult mission to recover, including 23 surgeries, but little by little, nicholson has made progress learning to walk using prosthetic legs. in lynn berry. this is "early today," your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

this is the view at 4:28 on this 21st they day of february. i'm joe krebs. >> i'm eun yang. welcome to "news4 today" on this february 21, 2012. opening statements are expected in the trial of five men accused in a southeast mass shooting. nine people were shot in a drive-by shooting on south capital street in march of 2010. four died. si six others were hurt in violent attacks within eight days of each other. each person charged in the spree faces a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

this morning a woman is dead and four others are injured when a bmw crashed into a restaurant in prince george's county. take a look at these pictures of a truly awful crash scene. this happened last night at the kfc in the 6700 block of martin luther king highway in landover. prince george's county police say the bmw was most likely going 100 miles per hour when it hit a curb, went airborne, and flipped several times before crashing into a parked suv, breaking windows of the restaurant. a witness tells news4 she ran to help the victims in the car. >> and then we ran over there. we pulled the guy out. he was hollering. but another guy took the girl -- she was real weak. >> police say the woman was ejected. she was most likely the driver of the bmw, they're saying. they're investigating whether drugs or alcohol were factors in the crash. three people were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. a fourth person was injured but