today," southwest slug fest. the gop presidential front runners clash in arizona, just days before a pair of crucial primaries. river of ruin. warm weather and heavy rain devastate homes in washington state. and crash course. two cars collide during ae television news report. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello. good morning. i'm lynn berry. a bitter debate in their last face-to-face confrontation before next tuesday's primaries in arizona and michigan, the

republican presidential candidates argued about bailouts, budgets and health care. nbc's steve handelsman has the story. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: four candidates debated in arizona but just two are tied in the key race in michigan. rick santorum and mitt romney and romney, in a change of tactics, went after his rival. >> while i was fighting to save the olympics you were fighting to save the bridge to nowhere. voted for raising the debt ceiling five times. >> government sides of the economy went down when i was in the united states senate. governor romney suggested raising taxes on the occupy wall street rhetoric. >> reporter: ron paul is siding with romney running tv ads falling santorum fake. >> because he's a fake. >> reporter: issue number two, birth control and president obama requiring church affiliated organizations to okay birth control distribution. >> i don't think we have seen in the history of this country the kind of attack on religious

conscientious, religious freedom, religious tolerance than we have 2013 in barack obama. >> what we are seeing is a problem in our culture. >> i think the immorale it's creates the problem of wanting to use the pill. >> reporter: newt gingrich fought to get heard. >> it is possible to modernize the federal government and cut taxes and develop energy simultaneously. >> reporter: he's not contending arizona or michigan. that's where romney and santorum have their showdown tuesday. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. syrian military forces have stepped up their attacks on rebel bases. more than 70 people were killed in syria on wednesday. in homs, shelling attacks killed two journalists, including american ma rear colvin. intercepted communication between syrian army officers revealed they had pledged to, quote, kill any journalists who

set foot on syrian soil. as the fighting continues, the united nations is sending a top humanitarian official to syria and is expected to call for aid groups to be given access to opposition forces. a third straight day of large protests in afghanistan today over the burning of copes of the koran by u.s. soldiers. fighting between violent protesters and afghan troops on wednesday left at least seven people dead and dozens wounded. the afghan/taliban issued an anti-foreigner statement encouraging young people to, quote, kill them, beat them, and capture them. the u.s. has apologized for burning the koran which they said was a mistake. here is a look at some of the other stories making news early today in america. near seattle, some dramatic video shows an entire house just giving way to a river, falling victim to flooding in the area due to heavy rain and melting snow there. in the end, only the garage was left standing. seven local rivers were under

flood warning last night. to the north one home destroyed and another damaged by a mudslide. forecasters hope snow will stop the snow melt. a man ordered at gunpoint to open a safe. the video shows one of the thieves hitting the woman before taking the cash. the manager was not seriously hurt. police are looking into whether this is connected to a string of robberies in the area. in los angeles after a car crash sent one vehicle right into a fire hydrant causing that huge gusher there. it happened right in the middle of evening rush hour, unfortunately. finally, a scare during a live tv news report in florida as two cars collided right behind the reporter. a taxi cab was broadsided while a reporter from our nbc affiliate wfla in tampa was reporting on gas prices.

fortunately, no serious injuries there. she had her game face on there too. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is meteorologist bill karins with a look at the forecast. bill, i remember those reporting days. something would happen in the back of your live shot, you have to keep going. you go with the flow. >> if she had done something like this, we would have gotten the big reaction. instead of 2 million hits on youtube, she could have had 10. a snowstorm to talk about. a mini band of snow to talk about. first, yesterday, 81 in san antonio. 79 in dallas. how gorgeous was yesterday throughout all of the southern half of the country all the way up to the mid-atlantic. even areas like new york city, philadelphia, baltimore, d.c., temperatures were gorgeous with late afternoon sunshine. the colder air, though, is still trying to hold on from minneapolis up through the northern plains. that is going to lead us to our little snow event we are going to deal with starting today through tonight, into tomorrow. now, chicago, the last three

winters, 52 inches of snow. 56 inches of snow and this one so far, only 16 inches. i think we are going to add to that. we may add as much as 6 to 8 inches to that by the time we are done with this next little snowstorm. remember, it's a little snowstorm. it's a very narrow band of heavy snow that is now beginning to form here in south dakota. it's going to head down through sioux falls through about ames and chicago later on today and tonight and possibly detroit. i'll show you how narrow of a band it is. it's just this little stripe of snow that comes down through central iowa, northern illinois, and it looks like it's going to head up through southern portions of michigan. indianapolis, green bay, maybe milwaukee may not see anything out of this. a narrow band of snow but if you get into that band of heavy snow, you could pick up 6 to 10 inches of snow and that includes areas like sioux falls, chicago, and areas just north of trite. that's what we will watch out the big weather story the next 24 hours. otherwise, today, what a day

today once again from dallas through atlanta and the eastern seaboard. enjoy that's a look at the national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. incredibly warm and beautiful today. ralei raleigh, north carolina, 76 and boston up to 50. houston could be at 83. also watch chances of storms in the ohio valley but nothing too bad. chicago getting one of their first snowstorms of the season. >> i know. middle of february. who would of thought? or end of february. bill, thanks so much. pc sales lag. online privacy makes progress. the intellectual property fight that is truly insane. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, which hollywood heart throb has most wives willing to trade in their men? coming up, jeremy lin and carmelo anthony hit their strike and lakers with a chance at a buzzer beater in minnesota. you're watching "early today."

good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. after criticism, virginia's governor bob mcdonald reversed course on wednesday on a bill mandating invasive you will extra sounds for women prior to abortion. the newly amended bill would still require an external ultrasound. a university of virginia lacrosse player has been convicted of the murder of the killing of his ex-girlfriend. the jury recommended 26 years in prison for george huguely after he attacked yeardley love in a jealous drunken rage. a dramatic video from argentina shows a packed commuter train slam nothing a

train station after it was unable to stop. 49 people were killed and 600 injured as train cars crushed into one another. a panel is recommending approval of the first new prescription weight loss drug in more than a decade. the drug had impressive results with most patients losing nearly 10% of their overall weight after a year. the fda had rejected kunixa in the past over safety concerns. the drugmaker will have to conduct more tests and even if given final approval, it may take three years for the drug to appear on the mark. russia claims they have brought back a flowering plant. they claim they grew the plant from frozen soil along the banks of the siberian river. now here is an "early" look how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens 12,938 after

losing 27 points yesterday. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo, the nikkei added 41 points. but in hong kong, the hang seng fell 168. a day after the dow flirted with 13,000, caution kicked in for the first time in four days. banks led stocks lower on wednesday, as lingering worries about europe's economy and the details of greece's debt deal kept investors on the sidelines. after the markets closed shares of hewlett-packard fell after reporting a level below expectations as the newly ceo meg whitman struggled to turn the pc maker around. dell lower than expected revenue forecast. overseas, shares of mazda slid nearly 7% after announcing it plans to sell $2 billion worth of new shares and drive half of its production base overseas. luxury home builder toll

brothers tumbled 5% after reporting a quarterly loss. the sector as a whole suffered from data showing u.s. home resale surged but not enough. on the upside, garmin jumped 9%. a number of internet giants including google have agreed to reporting a do not track button in most web browsers this year. the move is part of a white house push for congress to pass a privacy bill of rights. a judge has approved 370,000 of bonuses for employees solyndra which received $500,000 in federal loans before going under. jeremy lin may be the hot new york city sensation. lin filed for the phrase last week, but he is apparently

fourth in line including a former coach. just lin sane, doesn't get old, does it. the thurds figjeremy lin an knicks do it again. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. it appears we are going to go straight from a middle of the spring type forecast back to winter this weekend. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, what looked more like an extra practice session brought the knicks record back to even. here is fred roggin with an early look at all of your sports headlines. good morning. after an embarrassing loss to the nets, the knicks jeremy lin and carmelo anthony clicking on all cylinders. davis to j.r. smith, reverse alley-oop. the knicks came out flying in the opening quarter. carmelo looked pretty good in his second game back from injury. took the feed from lin and threw it down. anthony had 15. lin finished with 17 points and they win. they play the heat tonight. the last time the lakers in dallas swept out of the playoffs.

last night a different story. lakers stepped up down the stretch. kobe bryant to pau gasol and he milsed the first but got the second to fall. kobe found andrew bynum. lakers held on and beat the mavs 96-91. experience in oklahoma city. the young thunder ran over the aging celts. it seemed like every time boston turned it over, the thunder were sprinting the other way. kevin durant to russell westbrook combined for 59 points and thunder have won 11 straight at home. warriors and suns down to the final seconds. tied at 104. ellis spun and hit the fade-away with one second game and game high 26. golden state won in dramatic fashion 106-104. great finish in minnesota between the jazz and timberwolves. under 10 seconds to play. al jefferson pulled up and tied the game at 98 but in time for the timberwolves, riddenor got

it to fall at the buzzer. timberwolves rally from 16 down to win a thriller 100-98. >> that is your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. lindsay lohan's week just keeps getting better. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, springtime comes early to one ohio animal shelter. we will explain. you're watching "early today."

today" on this thursday. a narrow band of stripes come down through areas of south dakota into central iowa today and into chicago later on. it will start as rain and changing over to snow and heavy wet snow. watch out in detroit and otherwise, very warm around the country but it will cool off and get rainy on friday on the eastern seaboard. >> at kent state, see what women would wear at a day at the beach at the kent state museum. that is your "early today" event of the today. here is an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. i think we turned a corner here, bill. lindsay lohan got high marks from a los angeles judge at a

hearing on wednesday. the judge told lindsay lohan she is, quote n the home stretch of her probation for 2007 drunk driving case. her probation officer is said to be pleased with her progress. >> just had a little rough patch. >> exactly. national enquirer is drawing fire from whitney houston's family and fans for publishing a chilling photo of the singer's body in an open casket in the funeral home where the invitation only viewing was held. actress helen carter who played queen elizabeth's mother in "the king's speech" has been made named an award. ben affleck has jumped on the facebook page. third year in a row, "twilight" patinson has been named, quote, a man you'd trade

your husband for. >> really? >> in an i village survey an overwhelming 64%. the runner-up was ryan gosling. from wlwt in cincinnati, ohio. love is in the air early this year. an explosion of new kittens has left the local humane society with its handsful or handsful of new paws. cats don't normally begin breeding in the area until the end of march or early april, but like so many parts of the country it's been a mild winter and the warmer temperatures have been making the felines a little frisky there. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. as you can see, i'm in a tricky situation here.

i'm bidding on a 1979 dukes of hazzard lunchbox. my auction ends in 15 seconds ! even worse, my buddy's bidding on the same lunchbox ! it's airbrushed ! but i've got verizon 4g lte. it's so fast, i can outbid him at the last second.

i got it ! yes ! woo hoo ! it's got a thermos ! rely on verizon, america's largest 4g lte network. because only the fastest survive. at that temperature. 50 degrees, and that is just a sign of things to come today apparently. good morning to you. i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm eun yang. welcome to "news 4 today" for this thursday, february, 23, 2012. police are investigating a shooting. around 1:30 this morning police found two men shot, one in the stomach, the other in the back. right now they have not released any information on a suspect or the condition of the victims. we'll continue to update this story as more details become available.

this morning a former university of virginia lacrosse player is back behind bars after jurors recommended he spend the next 26 years in prison for killing his former girlfriend. george huguely was found guilty of second-degree murder and grand larceny. prosecutors say huguely beat yeardley love to death in a drunken rage in 2010. the prosecutors said in this case no one wins. >> there are no winners in this case. there's nothing but loss everywhere. >> we are, of course, disappointed with the verdict, but we've been proud to represent george in his fight for fairness over the last couple of years. >> before hearing the verdict, huguely made the sign of the cross and after the verdict he broke down and cried and was comforted by his attorneys. >>th