. >>> plus levi johnston's sister is following in his footsteps in more ways than one. >>> coming up, a former yankee strikes in the box, and a pair of light-hitting heroics you have to see. >>> good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. in yesterday's recall elections in wisconsin, republicans held on to control of the state senate. with six races at stake, the democrats needed take at least three of those races to take power, which they failed to do. the political fight there grew out of republican governor scott walker's successful efforts to adopt legislation stripping most public workers of rights to bargain on labor contracts. >>> in texas a jury has sentenced polygamous leader warren jeffs to life in prison plus 20 years for sexually assaulting two girls he claimed were his spiritual wives. he will not be eligible for parole until he is at least 100. >>> and the tsunami that struck japan in march triggered waves that smashed apart an ice shelf in antarctica some 8,000 miles away. before and after satellite imag

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." >>> and levi johnston, remember him?is day in "playgirl" now his sister is getting herds. mercedes johnson po-- johnston posed in "playboy." and she ripped bristol palin. can't these kids just get along? >>> and as the outrage grows over the picture of a wide-eyed michele bachmann, some may sigh wild-eyed "queen of rage" tina brown was on "morning joe. ". >> the intensity in her eyes is in all the photographs of her. this is the thing that's connecting with people. people in the crowds saying, something about her tells me i should follow her, and there is something about with the eyes looking out. she has a very, very -- this very intense demeanor. >> so this was from a light check, though. is that correct? >> no, it wasn't a light check at all. absolutely nonsense. there's no light check. no, our photographer took pictures of her. there was no precondition about how these pictures would be seen. we don't ever do that. >> karen hunter is a journalist, publisher and msnbc contributor. mark tapscott. good morning. if you d

most serious accusations, about drug use, levi and bristol's pregnancy, appears nude in the magazine and was presumably paid. how believable is mercedes johnstoneven hours interviewing her and i met friends of hers, her mother and i interviewed a bunch of random wasilans. no one called her a liar. people might say she was angry at the palins. i can't imagine sarah and her kids being the lightning rod for so much hate and discontent but she's an insider. lived there her whole life. there's 10,000 residents there. ten years ago it was 3,000, you know. she knows the town. she's very social there. >> but her account of bristol's pregnancy is in complete contradiction to bristol's memory of the occasion. bristol recently said that it was an accident, telling barbara walters, quote, i was on birth control when i got pregnant, yeah, but it was obviously not used effectively. again. why should we believe the sister's version of events? >> well, i just think with about anything, it's a different interpretation of the same set of facts. those two need to get on a reality show together and work it out. i kept saying to sadie that the two of them should s