president obama warned republicans against the debt ceiling dead lock. in harm's way an oregon firefighter falls through a roof while battling a condo fire. ring of fire, residents of the western u.s. treated to a rare, spectacular solar event this weekend. captions paid for by nbc-universal television this is "early today" for thursday, may 17th, 2012. hello and good morning i'm lynn berry. today, we begin with debt ceiling redo. president obama sat down with congressional leaders in washington yesterday, aiming to get a jumpstar on expiring

budget deal that went down to the wire last year but critics say it's a long shot before november elections. steve handelsman has details. >> reporter: at the white house, the president lunched with congressional leaders to avoid a repeat of last summer's fight that trashed the nation's credit rating. barack obama versus john boehner, on spending cuts and tax hikes. they failed to make a grand bargain, and their short term deals expire in december president obama would vow no down to the wire talks this fall. right now he wants tax cuts for small businesses, that hire more workers, saying the recovery can't wait. >> one of the ways we can sustain momentum is for congress to take some actions right now, even though it's election season. even though there is gridlock, partisanship. >> a clear election move

countered by boehner who like the hogies but not the program that would increase the deficit. >> where is the president's plan to tackle our looming debt crisis? >> reporter: in florida, mitt romney agreed, small business needs help. but. >> you don't raise taxes on them like the president is proposing, you lower the marginal rate. >> reporter: joe biden fired back, the democrat's plan to hike taxes on millionaires like romney who biden charge don't understand the middle class. >> my mother and father dreamed as much as any rich guy dreams. they don't get us. they don't get who we are. >> reporter: what republicans call class warfare, along with a refocus on the big issues. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. nbc news viewed two medical reports that may tell two different stories of

trayvon martin by george zimmerman. nbc's correspondent reports from sanford, florida. >> reporter: trayvon martin died from a single bullet wound to the chest, fired from a gun at intermediate range, according to an autopsy report prepared by a medical examiner and reviewed by nbc news. there was one other fresh injury on martin's body, according to the report, an abray schenn, no more an quarter inch in size to the left ring finger below the knuckle. as for the man with whom he struggled that night, now charged with his death, george zimmerman, he too suffered injuries according to a separate medical report prepared by his family doctor the day after the shooting. that report also reviewed by nbc news, states that zimmerman had a likely broken nose, as well as swelling, black eyes, and scalp lacerations. but there were no sutures needed. these reports are only a small

piece of the mountain of evidence about to be made public, up to 300 pages and 67 cds of witness statements, surveillance videos and other material. as the evidence dribbles out it's raising as many questions about what happened that night as answers. >> it's possible they can use to it indicate trayvon martin was in some ways the aagreessore, then the story will be george zimmerman was defending himself in which case he would be covered by stand your ground immunity. >> reporter: a lawyer for the family says the injuries prove nothing, because zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer started the confrontation in the first place. >> what we do know from the objective evidence, george zimmerman got out of his car with a nine millimeter gun and pursued a teenager who he, george zimmerman said in his own words, was running away from him. >> reporter: as the evidence continues to emerge in this highly charged case the dueling narratives are likely to

intensify. now other stories making news "early today" in america, in oregon, scary moments for a firefighter who fell through the roof of a three-story building. fortunately one of his buddies gave the signal he was okay, they were battling a fire that destroyed three condominiums. a new jersey man will never be far from his music, because he had four small magnets implanted in his arm, so he could keep his ipod nano attached to his wrist. he did it because he was fascinated by the idea of a strapless watch and the nano came with a clock interface. okay. finally a group of indiana students are in trouble over what seemed to be a harmless prank. they stuck 10,000 post-it notes to various parts of their high school. they even worked with the custodian to make sure it wouldn't cause any real problems, but now the students have been suspend and the janitor could be fired.

the superintendent said she didn't have official permission and has to be consequences. tough lesson to learn. for a look at national and regional weather here is the skeptical meterologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. you would not suspend them? >> i would promote them. >> i twoont go to your high school. that sounds like fun. >> it would be fun. >> pizza every day. >> whatever you want. >> and fries. >> good morning, everyone not often i start with this weather map, tells the story today what is happening on the eastern seaboard. this is the dew point, the moisture in the air, very humid up and down the eastern seaboard that changed this morning, you twoent bed with the windows open, a much cooler fresher air mass, these cold fronts this time of year have a tough time pushing through the southeast and that is where we're seeing problems this morning. not going to watch this front making its way through the southeast, and that boundary will set up and linger and cause

problems over the next 24 to 48 hours with rain and thunderstorms. this is miami this morning, have seen one round of thunderstorms rolling through, looks like fort lauderdale is next. up to the north, very heavy rain around charles ton this morning, a flood advisory for these storms not moving, sitting over the top of charleston. there is going to be isolated problems along the eastern seaboard with thunderstorms and rain, especially along the north florida coast and georgia coastline, a top ten gorgeous day in the northeast, still nice and warm in the middle of the country with very isolated storms. that is oo look at the national forecast, now here is the weather outside your window. we'll continue watching temperatures out there that are pretty warm in the middle of the country, even areas to the east have seen the front go through, will be mild around d.c., at 74 today, charlotte warm, too, kansas city, 85 and sunny. lynn, friday is a repeat of today, details coming up. bill, thanks so much.

losses mount at jp morgan chase. jp penny plunges, and kicked out of an all you can eat buffet. the early morning business headlines are straight ahead. forbes list of the 100 most powerful and influential celebrities out there. guess who told the list. coming up kevin garnett turns back the clock the lakers get thunder-struck and is larry byrd the greatest basketball mind ever? 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. in a surprise move in the trial of john edwards, his defense team rested its case yesterday without calling the former democratic presidential candidate, his ex-mistress or edwards' daughter to testify about alleged campaign financial violations. closing arguments are scheduled for today.

mary kennedy, the estranged wife of robert kennedy, jr., was found dead in her new york home. a source familiar with the investigation told nbc news her death appears to be a suicide. for the first time, caucasian births are no longer majority in the united states. accounted for 49.6 of all births, minorities including hispanics, blacks and asians reached 50.4%. a new study finds that men who drank at least six cups of coffee a day had a 10% lower chance of death. for women the risk of dying was 15% lower. and for the first time in 18 years, the western parts of the united states can watch a rare type of solar eclipse, this happening on sunday. a ring of fire will radiate from behind the moon as it passes in front of the sun. the ring will be bright, you will need solar safe telescopes

or projection methods to watch it. here is how wall street will kick off the dow opens at 12,598 after falling 33 points yesterday. s&p down 5 points, nasdaq lost 19. overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei added 75 points, in hong kong the hang seng dipped 58. fears greece will exit the eurozone have investors on edge. a greek judge was sworn in to oversee the interim government yesterday until new elections are held on june 17th. making matters worst the ur poon yae central bank stopped funding banks as customers drain the euros. investors fled to the safety of the dollar. gold recovered 1% after falling to the lowest level since december yesterday.

the new york times reports jp morgan chase has racked up another billion dollars in losses, stemming from the multi-billion dollar trading blunder as shareholders have begun suing the bank for taking excessive risk. j.c. penney had the biggest decline in four decades including the 1987 stock market crash. elsewhere, skechers will pay $50 million to settle allegations of false advertising about toning shoes. speaking of truth in advertising, one wisconsin man learned the hard way that all you can eat may be open to interpretation. the 66 frts, 350 man was kicked out of chuck's place after eating a dozen pieces of fried fish. they sent him home with another 8 pieces but he still called the cops, and insists he will picket the restaurant until they change their policy. just never enough fried fish.

the celts top the sixers. o's top the royles, larry byrd winning awards. a third period tip-in goal help the devils gets even. >> i believe that was 20 pieces of fried fish. the forecast is coming up, a nice, quiet one you're watching "early today."

good morning, if you're just waking up this is "early today." in sports last night the nba playoffs, metta world peace got pay back for the big elbow. here is fred roggin with an early look at the sport headlines. good morning, now, whether you lose by 29 or you lose by 2, a loss is a loss. lakers and thunder game two, oklahoma city, redemption for james hardin caught metta world piece with the elbow. lakers found their game, kobe bryant to gasol to bynum. thunder hung around. went on an incredible run finished with nine straight. lakers gave it everything they had, wasn't enough, the thunder won 79-77. big game in philly, a real big game. final seconds of the first quarter.

williams stopped and popped and drained the three at the buzzer. sixers up five. the second belong do the celts. kevin garnett turns 36 on saturday was playing like weighs 26 they were up 11 at the break. kept it going in the second half. rajon rondo to paul pierce, boston wins 107-91. larry byrd one the executive of the year only person in league history to win a regular season mvp, finals mvp, coach of the year, and executive of the year. pretty impressive resume. hockey, the best way to score on a hot goalie, that is traffic in front of the net. that is what the devils did. after being shutout in game one, carter tied the game in the second, in the third, clarkson kept the puck the out of mid-air, that is the winner. the devils earned a split in new york with a 3-2 win. game three saturday on nbc.

extra innings in kansas city. adam jones picked a great time to snap out of a slump. home run in the 15th inning, the o's win it 4-3. the dictator almost takes a dive, will smith goes olympian. the entertainment headlines are straight ahead. a world famous band gives their all for a small town in indiana. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." a beautiful, gorgeous day in so many sections of the country today including the middle of the nation, ohio valley, tennessee valley all the way up to the northeast, enjoy it you deserve it after a couple wet days in a row. around charleston area, bad thunderstorms and much of florida will be in and out of the rain during the day. worst of it near fort lauderdale. florida will be dealing with hit and miss showers and storms. if you're watching us on whdh, 7 news in boston, see two types of seadragons with 25 other creatures that co-exist with them at the seadragon exhibit at new england aquarium. that is the "early today" event of the day. bill, thanks so much. an early look at headlines in entertainment, amid rumors she is about to leave "american idol," jennifer lopez finds herself at the height of her

powers. she tops this year's forbes celebrity 100 list with $52 million in earnings, massive amounts of media spotlight. i'm surprised beyonce didn't get that. she beats out oprah in second, 18-year-old justin bieber took third. >> holding up there. >> rihanna in fourth, lady gaga slipped to fifth. what is happening there. the canen seven film festival opened. while "the dictator" isn't in the competition didn't stop sas shfrna baron cohen with a came mel. the camel almost dropped him as he almost tumbled off. >> barely. >> finally in london, for the last night's premiere of "men in black 3" will smith met with athletes, he shot hoops, he had

a try at hurdles and the triple jump, but he looked like legitimate contender boxing, you wonder why, remember him training for the 2001 film "ali." he's right at home there. this comes to us from louisville, kentucky students who lost their entire school to a tornado won respect of country music stars. lady antebellum performed a private concert for the kids at henriville, indiana's junior-senior high school, they called it a mini prom. the band was unable to make it to the real prom, the students held this one after their campus was destroyed. lady a then performed a second much-larger public concert to raise money for all of henriville's victims. i'm lynn berry this is "early today" your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

he helped to create that distinct sound. this morning fans are remembering the life of chuck brown. good morning, everybody. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> and i'm eun yang. new this morning man found shot and killed inside his car in fairfax county. police found him around 11 clchb 30 at the intersection of san leandro. police have not released his

name or any information about a possible suspect or motive. prince william county police are searching for the person who shot two people inside their home. it happened around 8:00 last night in the dumfries area. police say the victims were taken to the hospital. both are expected to make full recoveries. police are still trying to determine a motive in this case. a battle over abortion will play out on capitol hill today. a house subkrit knee will discuss a limit on when women can get an abortion. pro-choice activists oppose the bill but so do many d.c. residents who think it infringes. in just a few hours world leaders from the g-8 will arrive at the airport.