♪ this morning on "early today", stylish state dinner. the president and first lady roll out washington's red carpet for their london courtparts. fast forward. nasa shows off an impressed c condensed view of the moon's revolution. > a four-legged creditor is a hit on the web for its > a four-legged creditor is a hit on the web for its impressive downhill skills. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with on the campaign trail. on the heels of primaries in mississippi and alabama,

republican presidential candidates rick santorum and mitt romney are shifting their focus must farther looking looking to puerto rico this saturday. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. this weekend we shift off the mainland to the island to focus on presidential politics. puerto rico cannot vote in the general election but they elect delegates to the convention and that is the focus right now. rick santorum has been campaigning there two days in a row. today will be his second day. and he talked about whether or not puerto rico should receive statehood. he said he will only push for that if it's something they want and if they make english the primary language there. he also emphasized he is not pressuring newt gingrich to push out of the race. as he put it, he did not ask newt gingrich to get in, he's not going to push for him to get out. puerto rico has 20 delegates

this weekend. mitt romney, who is off today, will be in puerto rico tomorrow. he is focusing on illinois. that primary tuesday. they have 54 delegates. with santorum not on the ballot in most of the districts of illinois, romney and newt gingrich are really fighting this one out. gingrich said both of them forced romney to pretty much drain his treasury to run this race. lynn? tracie potts in washington. thank you. the u.s. soldier accused of killing 16 afghan civilians has been moved out of the country to a detention center in kuwait. he is traveling to meet with his client. leon panetta's talk to american troops in afghanistan yesterday, the marines were ordered to be unarmed and leave their weapons outside. and as panetta's plane was arriving, an afghan driver in a stolen pickup crashed into a ditch as he attempted to hit a group of marines.

that driver was killed. in his attempts to crush opposition to his regime, syrian president al asad was reportedly getting advice from iran. "the guardian" published e-mails september by assad and his wife since last june. he was advised how to handle the uprising and joked about promises of reform. he was also told about western journalists in homs and urge to tighten the security grip. they showed them enjoying a luxurious lifestyle. president obama and first lady michelle hosted their sixth state dinner. this one honoring english prime minister david cameron and his wife samantha. while the president and first lady wore their formals well,

sparkling dark blue gown turned to his wife and said they look better than us. they toasted to the two nation's long alliance. they toasted the president saying what it was like to work with someone with clear vision and decency. it was attended by actor george clooney. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. a surprise end to go a freeway crash in california. after highway patrol officers bumped the back of a pickup truck to stop a suspected drunk driver, they found a baby actually inside that car. the infant was in a car seat and wasn't hurt. officers say they didn't know the child was in the truck until the pursuit was over. in south carolina, police officers arrived just in time to save one of their own. a state trooper had to be pulled from the fiery wreckage after his patrol car crashed while chasing a motorcyclist who was doing more than 100 miles per

hour. the officer broke both of his legs. the suspect got away. surveillance video from oregon shows a thief attacking the owner of a deli with. er spray during a robbery. but the victim managed to fight back, grabbing a baseball bat and hitting the robber over and over again. both men eventually ran out of the store. the thief is still on the loose. and finally our favorite of the day. a ski resort has posted video of a possum riding the slopes on a tiny snowboard. his name is rat taouy just like the movie. like so many of his fellow human skiers, of course the resort closed for the season last week. all that lack of snow and warm weather. good video. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins. >> i like his little sweater. i never really saw their feet

before. >> a little too up close. >> yeah. i guess they have to climb trees and hang upside-down. >> minor detail. >> thanks, lynn. good morning, everyone. the incredible heat continues. it's going to continue this upcome weekend too. yesterday we were in the 80s as far as southern michigan all the way up to chicago we were at 81 degrees. just incredible stuff. minneapolis into the mid-70s. only cool spots were the northern plains and for this time of year it's still mild by your standards but cool for everyone else. where is the cold air? the blue shows you the cold air well up into canada. as we go through the next seven days, a little chunk into the west coast. we will talk about the winter storm there in the days ahead. thursday of next week, there's no signing of any cooldown. expect incredible temperatures to continue. so this morning we're in the 60s in the areas in the middle of the country. we do have some showers and storms traveling through ohio. that's really one of the only wet spots out there. the mild air is the general

rule. as far as the wet weather, the line of thunderstorms just went lieu columbus. eventually it will slide into areas near pittsburgh. just carry the umbrella. you may need it briefly. today's forecast, another banner day from denver to the east coast. the exception, a little chilly up along the coast in new england. that's a look at your national forecast. now here is a look at the weather outside your window. chance of showers and storms today. for the most part, though, typical popup storms late in the day. even d.c. and baltimore. about 20% chance of your storms. most of the day will be sunny and nice. keep it coming. >> i'll take it. bill, thanks so much >> also coming up, financials fly, apple cruises higher, and finding a roommate just as if you were finding a date. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, lindsay lohan accused of a late night driving incident once again she's denying it. coming up, a win/lose

situation for the tphaous, and the president fills out his bracket. you're watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. greg smith, an executive at goldman sachs investment bank in london for 12 years, resigned yesterday detailing his complaints in the "new york times". smith called the culture at sachs toxic saying the firm's interest came first with cal can louse talk about ripping off clients. the ceo said smith was disgruntled and his claims did not reflect the culture. a jury in virginia determined that officials at virginia tech were negligent in waiting to warn students of a gunman on campus in april 2007. 33 people died in the massacre. former illinois governor rod

blagojevich goes to prison to start serving a 14-year sentence for corruption. he said what he did was legal and an appeal of his conviction will succeed. the remains of 22 belgian children and 6 adults killed in a bus crash in switzerland are being returned to their home country. the victims were mourned in a church service and vigil are yesterday in belgium. nasa assembled an amazing video animation tracing the history of the moon. it shows the moon forming into a molten rock formation of the surface and the many collisions that left all the craters. >> and now here's an early look at one of your top health headlines. most women between the ages of 30 and 65 can go five years between cervical cancer screenings. however, experts say extending the time between pap tests may lead to a small increase in the

number of women who could die from cervical cancer. women age 21 to 30 should continue screenings every three years. for more information on this and other health stories, check out the health page at msnbc.com. >> "early today" health is brought to you by vagisil wash. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 13,194. the s&p down a point, but the nasdaq was up a fraction. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei gained 72 points, while in hong kong the hang seng added 45. after posting the biggest gains on tuesday, blue chips eeked out another gain. however, three of the four banks that failed the fed's stress tests, citigroup, metlife and allied financial struggled

yesterday. news of stocks buybacks and possible dividend increases boosted wells fargo and key corp. meanwhile, apple, due to unveil the new ipad in stores tomorrow, jumped nearly 4% thanks to analyst upgrades. s&p broke its week-long winning streak. shares of proctor & gamble dipped before the day's close. chevron slipped lower at the end of the day as the price of crude traded near a one-week low. however, recent optimism about the u.s. economy helped lift the dollar to an 11-month high against the yen is examine one-month high against the euro. realtytrac said the number of americans receiving delinquency notices on their homes rose last month, while the number of overall foreclosures dropped. if you're going to use pay pal to vote on college basketball, you may want to think again. they sent alerts to customers using the service for march

madness wagers saying their account lose has been, quote, limited. probably, you finally heard about speed dating. >>reporter: new yorkers have a fast way to find and screen a potential roommate or renter without a commitment. coming up, the magic lose as the trade deadline looms. lions hand out the biggest contract for a wide receiver ever. and even president obama has the march madness bug. plus, even without the reigning mvp, the bulls slam the miami heat. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. a few spots have cooled down. for the most part, the record heat continues especially in the heartland. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports, last night the new york knicks shook off the surprise resignation of their head coach and snapped a six-game losing streak. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. mike dantoni has had enough. he resigned amid a seven-game losing streak. he just couldn't seem to get carmelo and company to mesh in

new york. knicks crushed the trailblazers by 42 last night. no coaching controversy in the windy city. rose sat out with a sore groin. lucas, backup point guard, had arguably the best game of his career. team high 24 against the heat. chicago had six players in double firms. bulls turned down the heat, 106-102. nba trade deadline is today. dwight howard still a member of the magic. tony parker has been on a tear lately to the chants of mvp. he finished with 31 points for the second straight game. he won 122-111. detroit lions opened their checkbook and signed calvin to an eight-year deal. college hoops, field of 64 is set. vermont will play north carolina after they beat lamar. the fifth time vermont is in the tournament. they advance 71-59. south florida moved on.

at one point they were up 32 on cal. golden bears made it respectable in the second half but couldn't get over the hump. they'll play temple tomorrow. finally, how does your bracket stack up with the president's? he's got kentucky, missouri, ohio state and north carolina in the final four. three years ago he had the tar heels winning it all, and he was right. once again, he picked north carolina. any coincidence that the democratic convention is also in north carolina? you be the judge. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. coming up, an actress gets a baby. an actor gets an nc-17 rating, and an old film gets a new night in theaters. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. it's bad enough many folks have lost their homes recently. but a 101-year-old woman? fortunately we have a happy ending for you. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today". we have another beautiful warm day forecast for much of the country. the exceptions, new england, northern new england especially. chillier air mass. we're watching for showers and storms in pittsburgh this morning, now in ohio. if you're watching local 2 in houston, texas see art inspired by comic book, super heroes, hip-hop at this rejection of the conquerer at the art museum of

southeast texas. that's your "early today" event of the day. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. charlize theron is a mom. she has adopted an african-american boy named jackson. elsewhere, tmz reports new orleans police issued an arrest warrant for russell brand, accused of grabbing a photographer's phone monday and throwing it through the window of a nearby law firm. lindsay lohan tweeted yesterday allegations she was in a hit and run the night before were, quote, a complete lie. however, reports say witnesses saw lohan in a black porsche doing a u turn to avoid photographers, grazing a man and his car. the man is said to be considering charges. bad news for matthew mcconnaughey. "killer joe" will definitely have an nc-17 rating, considered a box office killer for violence and sexual content this summer. finally, the bodyguard starring

whitney houston and kevin costner will be in theaters for its 20th anniversary one night only wednesday march 28th. this comes from wdiv local 4 news in detroit where a best-selling author has come to the rescue of a 101-year-old woman. she was evicted from her home after her son fell behind on her taxes. then after the taxes were worked out, her home was declared unsafe. enter writer mitch. he stepped in and bought the foreclosed house for just $100. he then used his charity to put in $20,000 worth of renovations. that allowed the woman to return home. she'll be doing that later this month. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.