lynn mahon's the artist in residence at latour vineyards. while his location among the vines may seem picture perfect, the art he's making here is, by his own account, anything but. there's a tendency with ceramic artists that they want to make perfect vessels. they want everything. they want things to match up. they want to be recognized for the same things. where i really like to undo things. i like to, to make them so you can't. i mean you'll recognize that it's mine because it looks so crazy. and it's so chaotic. i, i add chaos to the perfect pot. a quick peek around lynn's studio confirms it -- this guy's art is free form, not unlike nature around it. and occasionally, downright dinged up. i'll make a perfect vase and then i un-make it by messing it up. so tell me about this piece? dad's sixtieth birthday. and it's a fountain. there will be a tube of water that will shoot down into this bowl here and it'll drain out the floor. it's a self portrait -- can you see the likeness? this is the likeness right here. thank you very much. sure. a

i'm lynn berry.oday, we begin with an impassioned plea. millions watched last night as president obama delivered his third state of the union speech. something democrats hope will be seen as a compelling appeal for his election to a second term. in it, the president called for national unity and laid out plans for the future. nbc's tracie potts is in washington with more on this. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. americans were listening to hear what the president would say and watching to see what members of congress would do. democrats and republicans, many of them sat together, but listening to this speech, they didn't seem to agree on much. >> osama bin laden is not a threat to this country. >> reporter: mentioning the death of osama bin laden brought bipartisan applause. but he quickly turned off republicans with promises to ensure millionaires pay no less than 30% in taxes. >> now, you can call this class warfare all you want, but asking a billionaire to pay as much as has

i'm lynn berry.oday we begin with a fiery fight. with a week to go before the florida primary, the republican presidential candidates came out swinging in last night's debate here on nbc. romney accused gingrich of influence pedaling. steve handlesman reports from tampa. >> reporter: newt gingrich and mitt romney each with one primary win tried to finish one another off in florida. >> i think it's about leadership. the speaker was given an opportunity to be the leader of our party in 1994. at the end of four years, he had to resign in disgrace. >> i think the american public deserves a discussion about how to beat barack obama. i think this is the worst kind of trivial politics. >> i'm here to point out things we all need to know. >> you ought to stop and look at the facts. >> reporter: ron paul is not contending florida. rick santorum polling a weak third here warned i'd could be active in cuba. in a state hard hit by the houdsing crisis, freddie mac is a big issue. the federally backed lender blame

i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. >>> we begin this morning with an empassioned plea. millions watched last night as president obama delivered his third state of the union speech, something democrats hope will be seen as a compelling appeal for his election to a second term. in it, the president called for national unity and laid out plans for the future. nbc's steve handelsman has more from capitol hill. steve, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, thanks, good morning from capitol hill. even his harshest critics concede, this is what barack obama does best, his democrats up here loved this state of the union address. >> the president of the united states. >> reporter: barack obama came to congress pushing his re-election feed, that republicans call class warfare. >> we can set for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well while a growing number of americans barely get by or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot and everyone does their fair s

lynne". i will see you back here next time on pbs. until then, keep the faith. >> for more information of a bin vincent van gogh. that is next time. we will see you then. >> every community has a martin luther king boulevard. it is the cornerstone we all know. it is not just a street but a place >> and from contributions by viewers like you. thank you. what do more harm -- pbs. >> pahor -- be more --lo

i'm lynn berry. this is "early today."ust your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. >>> a village in spain turned up the heat for an annual tradition. on the eve of the feast of st. anthony, nearly 120 houses were mounted and rode near as possible. sometimes over about 20 bonfires prepared by locals. although the origin of the ritual has been lost, it can be traced back to the 18th century and is thought to cleanse the horses of disease. >>> in china, there's a price to pay for being single. rather than tell their parents they're still flying solo, many young people are hiring rental boyfriends to join them on their next visit home. thousands of pseudo suitors are advertising their services online, offering to chat with parents, cook, and even do chores. buyers pay by the hour or day to avoid that "when are you settling down" lecture. >>> finally, is it break dancing, brick dancing, or both? a cementer in china has created a style of break dancing that mimics the 40 steps used in the brick laying process. his d

>> lynn, good morning. good morning, everyone.his morning the "des moines register" in iowa is reporting all of the certified results that are going to be counted are in, and rick santorum is up by 34 votes. this has been going back and forth as they received the forms in the certifications from counties and precincts all over the state. and by noon yesterday the totals flipped and santorum was up. the final six precincts came in last night and the final certification shows santorum, according to "the register" up by 34 votes. what does this all mean? mitt romney issued a statement this morning again congratulating santorum saying this was a virtual tie. the iowa republican party is saying the same thing. there are eight precincts that won't be certified and we understand from reports that the form to certify the votes either never showed up or somehow was never counted. as a result they can't find the forms. they can't count the votes. and the votes that can be counted show santorum as the winner. all of this coming two days befo

lynn? >> thank you. >>> elsewhere floridians are asked why an interstate highway was left open early sunday many offen after a horrific pile-up. at least ten people were killed and 20 people injured after a crash with cars, truck, and tractor-trailers. dense fog and smoke blew across 75 in gainesville, reducing visibility and causing havoc in both the north and southbound lanes. when rescuers arrived, they said they could only listen for screams and moans because the poor visibility made it difficult to find victims in the wreckage. just horrible there. >>> occupy oakland protesters battle the police over the weekend and the most violent confrontation yet by the corporate influence, more than 400 were arrested during clashes in which demonstrators threw rocks and bottles and ransacked city hall. police responded with tear gas. at least three officers and one protester were injured. >>> in new york, occupy wall street protesters marched sunday night in solidarity with occupy oakland. >>> in

good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. the millionaire front-runner has a couple of financial problems down with the voters in south carolina. first of all, the $374,000 he got in speaking fees last year, an amount he described as not much before the actual amount was released. and also the 15% effective tax rate that he is paying romney in an interview said he explained that's because it is from investments, not from wages, from wages that tax rate could be double. romney has promised to release his tax returns, but not right away. he says he'll do it in april, which, he says, is traditionally when candidates tend to do that, after the most recent return is ready. but yesterday one of his strongest supporters, new jersey governor chris christie, called on him to release those tax returns sooner, sooner is generally better than later. but in response, romney still says he'll wait until april to release those returns. expect this issue to come up tonight at the second debate in south carolina. that debate just days before s

i'm lynn berry.oday we begin with anybody's ball game. the gop presidential contest is heating up in the sunshine state where mitt romney is hoping that releasing tax returns will help him reclaim his front-runner status after being beaten in south carolina on saturday. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with all of this. tracie, good morning. >> lynn, good morning. good morn, everybody. since ron paul has essentially decided not to compete in florida it's winner take all. the winner gets all of the state's delegates this summer. that means this is essentially a three-way race between mitt romney, newt gingrich, and rick santorum. romney who said he wouldn't release his tax information until april, now under pressure from newt gingrich has decided to release those records this week with an estimate of his 2011 taxes. rick santorum also says he'll release his this week. gingrich already has. so that will round it out for the three who are competing in florida. they've got a debate there tonig

i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. and we begin this morning with an improving outlook. according to new poll numbers, it appears americans are becoming more optimistic about the state of the economy. the latest nbc news/wall street journal poll finds 0% say the country is headed in the right direction. that's up eight points from a month ago. 45% approve of the job president obama is doing in handling the economy. that's a six-point rise over the last month. more people say they believe the economy will get better instead of worse in 2012. that's a seven-point jump over last month. all three polls came in at the highest positive levels they've been at in a year. on the heels of that, president obama kicked off a three-day campaign style swing through five battleground states yesterday. at his first stop there was a tense exchange between the president and that state's governor brewer. >> lynn, good morning. it was tense or intense depending on h

nbc's tracie potts reports. >> reporter: good morning, lynn. analysts saying this was romney's strongest debate yet and he needs it. florida is a big prize. and with four days to go, this one is still a horse race. new polls put mitt romney seven or eight points ahead of newt gingrich last night. he came out swinging when gingrich described romney as anti-immigrant. >> that's inexcusable. my father was born in mexico. the idea that i'm anti-immigrant is repulsive. don't use a term like that. >> reporter: romney accused gingrich of being a big spender after proposing big projects in key primary states. gingrich fought back. >> you don't have to be cheap everywhere. you can have priorities to get things done. >> reporter: gingrich said he wants to put a colony on the moon in eight years. everyone took issue with that. >> that's a great thing to get votes but it's not a responsible thing. >> if i had a business executive come to me and say they wanted to put a few hundred billion dollars to put a colony on the moon, i would say, you're fired. >> i

our first speaker is lynn olson. lynn olson has a distinguished resume. her work includes being a reporter around the world. she covered jimmy carter's presidential campaign. she later joined the "baltimore sun's" washington bureau and eventually left journalism to work as a freelance writer in nor fork. her latest book "citizens of london, the americans who stood with britain in its darkest and finest hour" was published in 2010 by random house. will you join me in welcoming lynn olson? >> thank you very much. i am delighted and honored to be here. i have told many people that this really is my favorite place to do research. the staff here is absolutely spectacular, and every time i come back here, i feel like i'm coming home. the three men that i'm going to talk about this afternoon were not members of fdr's circle foreign policy advisers in washington. nonetheless, they played critical roles in one of the most important allied achievements of world war ii, the formation of the wartime partnership between the united states and great britain. that allian

i'm lynn berry.oday, we begin with the early advantage. polls are not even open yet for today's florida primary, but mitt romney is already beating newt gingrich. according to ballots counted from half a million early voters, the former massachusetts governor has a double-digit lead. nbc's tracie potts joins us live from tampa with the latest. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. good morning, everyone. those numbers give us a sense of what may happen as the polls now open here in florida. of course, we'll know by the end of the day, but according to the exit polls from those early voters that you mentioned, mitt romney has a two-to-one advantage. >> thank you for all your work. i need your vote tomorrow. get out there and vote. >> reporter: he's got reason to feel confident. take a look at the polls. here's why. >> newt has a ton of baggage. >> reporter: romney and his super pac are bombarding the state with ads, most of them negative. it's part of romney's new game plan. >> he's b

i'm lynn berry.>> today we begin an improving outlook. according to new poll numbers it appears americans are becoming more optimistic about the state of the economy. the latest nbc news/"wall street journal "poll finds 30% say the country is headed in the right direction. that's up eight points from a month ago. 45% approve of the job president obama is doing in handling the economy. that is a six-point rise over the last month. and more people said they believe the economy will get better instead of worse in 2012. that is a seven-point jump over last month. all three polls came in at the highest positive levels they have been at in a year. on the heels of that, president obama kicked off a three-day campaign-style swing through five battleground states yesterday. and his first stop in arizona, there was a tense exchange between the president and that state's republican governor jan brewer. nbc's tracie potts is joining us now from washington with those details. >> lynn, grorpg good morning. you can

i'm lynn berry. this is "early today." just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. >>> a virtual city was chiselled out of ice in moscow. architects and sculptures gathered to construct nearly 20 mini sculptures and a castle made of ice for a competition in russia with. temperatures hovering around only 32 degrees, the mild winter has left the creations susceptible to melting. weather permitting, the castle will remain open until march. >>> in england, 50 cars from the iconic james bond flicks are starring in their own exhibition. marking the movie's 50th anniversary, most of 007's rides have been put on display. some of the cars bore the battle wounds of filming the movies. others had their secret weapon systems exposed. pretty cool there. the exhibition is the largest of the vehicles in the world. >>> and finally, one woman in new zealand is auctioning something off that is very valuable, you may say. with her financial situation getting tough, tina got crafty and started an auction where the winner could

lynn? >> tracy potts for us there in washington, thank you. >>> environmentalist praise it and republicans are slamming president obama's decision to block a controversial oil pipeline. the keystone xl project would have carried oil mixed with tar sands from western canada across the midwest and down to gulf coast refineries. critics say the pipeline posed a risk by going through environmentally sensitive areas of nebraska, but union leaders say the gop said it would have created thousands of jobs. newt gingrich called the president's decision, quote, stunningly stupid. the pipeline owner will event lip submit a new plan with an alternate route. >>> now to the very latest this morning on that disaster involving a grounded cruise ship liner off the coast of italy. the captain of the ship claims that he tripped and fell from the vessel as it was tilting over last friday. he says he did not intend to abandon his passengers. satellite photographs are being used to monitor the accident site for

i'm lynn berry. today we begin with an impassion plea. millions watched last night as president obama delivered his third state of the union speech. something democrats hope will be seen as a compelling appeal for his election to a second term. in it, the president called for national unity and laid out plans for the future. nbc's steve handelsman has more from capitol hill. steve, good morning. >> lynn, thanks. good many from capitol hill. >> reporter: even his harshest critics concede this is what barack obama does best. his democrats up here love his state of the union address. >> the president of the united states! >> reporter: barack obama came to congress pushing his reelection feed that republicans call class war fare. >> we cannot settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of americans barely get bit, where we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rule

good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning.f the four candidates on the stage, the one person not there seemed to have the most impact on how this debate started. newt gingrich's wife of 18 years told abc he cheated on her while publicly promoting family values. >> he was asking to have an open marriage, and i refused. >> reporter: gingrich admits being unfaithful but chided cnn for making it question number one. >> to take an ex-wife and make it two days before the primary a significant question for a presidential campaign is as close to despicable as anything i can imagine. let me be quite clear. the story is false. >> reporter: this just hours after rick perry dropped out and endorsed gingrich. rick santorum questions whether gingrich's past could cost republicans the election. >> i love him, but at times he's just got that sort of, you know, worrisome moment that something's going to pop and we can't afford that. >> reporter: mitt romney still says he'll wait until april to release his tax returns. >> i obviously pay all fu

i'm lynn berry. today we begin with anybody's glam. the gop presidential contest is heating up in the sunshine state where mitt romney is hoping that releasing tax returns will help him reclaim his front-runner status after being beaten in south carolina on saturday. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on all of this. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. good morning, everyone. let's talk about romney and those taxes. he said not until april when the 2011 taxes are ready. now he says i'll release them early. in fact, i'll do it this week. he says, why not? santorum also planning to release his taxes now. gingrich already did. he paid almost $1 million in taxes. that expected to be a big topic at debate in tampa tonight. florida voters getting a chance to decide who they want to represent their state as a winner in this primary that's coming up in just about a week now. coming out of south carolina, newt gingrich now has the momentum. he has not been on top of the p

lynn? >> brian mooar in washington. thank. >>> floridaens are asking why an interstate highway was left open after a horrific pileup. ten people were killed and 20 others injured after a series of crashes involving cars, trucks and tractor-trailers. a blinding mix of heavy fog and thick smoke from a nearby brush fire blew across i-75, south of gainesville, produreducing visiy and causing havoc in both lanes. the poor visibility made it difficult to find victims in the wreckage. terrible there. >>> elsewhere, occupy oakland protesters battled with police over the weekend in the most violent confrontation yet launched by the movement against inequality and corporate influence. more than 400 were arrested during clashes in which demonstrators threw rocks and bottles and then ransacked city hall. police responded with tear gas. at least three officers and one protesters were injured. in new york, occupy wall street protesters marched sunday night in solidarity with occupy oakland. in washington, d.c., occupy demonstrators f

i'm lynn berry, and today we begin with a narrowing field. despite carrying the largest endorsement, jon huntsman is officially ending his bid for the republican presidential nomination. he's expected to endorse front-runner mitt romney later today. tracie potts joins us from washington with all of those details. good morning to you. >> good morning to you. this is interesting after getting the endorsement over the weekend and after placing third in new hampshire, the one race john huntsman got the voters to back him now in south carolina looks like before that primary this weekend, he is going to bow out later this morning and then after that we understand he will endorse mitt romney, who is still the front-runner in this race, even in conservative south carolina. he's got on average a seven-point lead. huntsman is expected to talk to romney today. no word what his immediate plans are after dropping out or how often we might see him on the campaign trail with mitt romney. romney certainly seems to be the focus now in south carolina. all of t

lynn?> thank you. >>> elsewhere, while environmentalists praise it republicans are slamming president obama's decision to block a controversial oil pipeline. the keystone xl project would have carried tar sands across the midwest and down the gulf coast refineries. they were going through environmentally sensitive areas of nebraska but the gop said it would have created thousands of jobs. newt gingrich called the president's decision, quote, stunningly stupid. the environmental owner will present a new plan with an alternate route. >>> a grounded cruise liner off the coast of italy, the captain of the ship now claims that he tripped and fell from the vessel as it was tilting over last friday. he says he did not intend to abandon his passengers. satellite photographs are being used to monitor the accident site for any signs of fuel leaks. 11 people are confirmed dead. calmer seas allowed the search to resume this morning for 21 people still missing in the disaster. an american couple is amon

i'm lynn berry.oday, we begin with a western wallop. in the pacific northwest, folks are bracing for what could be a major snow storm with the potential of several feet of accumulation in mountain areas. travel is already been snarled in cities like portland and seattle where the average annual snowfall is barely six inches. nbc's kirk gregory reports. >> reporter: old man winter is slamming into the pacific northwest. snow has been falling steadily in parts of oregon and washington making road conditions hazardous. with the worst expected later today. seattle, more used to rain than snow, is preparing for a major winter wallop. the national weather service has issued a winter storm warning for much of the region where up to two feet of snow is forecasted in the cascade mountains. >> get off on 34. turn around. it's going to be closed until probably tomorrow. >> really? >> reporter: interstate 90 through the snowe kwal mi pass was closed tuesday because of avalanche danger. >> the weather does what i

it ends up on national tv. >>> i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. >>> some bet vets in nick rarag are giving cats a second chance. these cats were rescued from traps set by local farmers. conservationists moved in to rescue them from near death. they will be hand fed until they're strong enough to be released into the wild. >>> a colorful celebration took place in india in preparation of spring season. 40 days before the hindu spring festival of holy, people gathered a temple to mark the beginning of the jubilation. priests dusted worshippers with plumes of colored powder. holy encourages brotherhood in society and people of all faiths to join in celebration. >>> and finally, in thailand competitors hit the sheets, but definitely did not rest. hundreds turned out to see the fourth annual bed race on sunday. participants from all over the world turned their beds into decorative floats and raced them down the main street. the event raised about $.5 million, which will be

i'm lynn berry. today, we begin with a fight in florida. it was a verbal battle in jacksonville between mitt romney and newt gingrich in the final debate before tuesday's primary. they squabbled about many issues, including housing, immigration, even a colony on the moon. nbc's steve handlesman reports. >> reporter: mitt romney threw the first punch at newt gingrich. >> the idea i'm anti-immigrant is repulsive. >> you tell me what language you would use to describe someone that thinks deporting a grandmother or grandfather from their family -- >> our problem is not 11 million grandmothers. >> reporter: florida's housing crisis is blamed by freddie mac. >> we should have had a whistleblower, not a horn tooter. >> frankly, i've had enough of this. we discovered governor romney owns both shares of freddie mac and fannie mae. >> reporter: they fought about spending in space, going to the moon. >> i do not want to turn around and say, it doesn't really matter. let the chinese dominate space. >> that's what got us into the trouble we're in now. w

i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. >>> we're going to begin this morning with a narrowing field. former utah governor and u.s. ambassador jon huntsman is ending his bid for the presidential nomination. he is expected tone dors mitt romney later today. and tracie potts joins us from washington with all of those details. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. good morning, everyone. we don't see an immediate endorsement like this. it comes after huntsman was endorsed by south carolina's largest newspaper. >> any time you get the largest paper in the state to come out and endorse you, that's a big deal. >> reporter: but jon huntsman will drop out this morning and endorse mitt romney. a spokesperson says he doesn't want to stand in the way for the candidate best prepared to beat barack obama. >> in south carolina, romney took $12 million and laid off millions. >> reporter: he has a lead in south carolina and that primary sunday and he is being pummelled with neg-ads. his name comes up

back to lester. >> okay, lynn.very much. >>> the parties are over, but for many the hangover from new year's eve is still going strong. how can you cure it? we have the executive wine editor for "food & wine" magazine. i felt like i was about to say drinking expert. >> that may be true to some degree. you know, the problem with hangovers, actually no cure. you know unfortunately, the cure is not to drink the night before. but you can mellow out some of the miserable effects. >> can i point out you are not a doctor. a lot of people will turn to painkillers. >> a lot of people turn to painkillers. there is a problem with this. acetaminophen and alcohol not a good combination. that could be dangerous, especially if you drink a lot. all of them rough on your stomach. it can be tough the morning after if your sutomach isn't feeling well. you should always follow the directions, and not like take two too many. >> i don't known it's a myth or strategy. one colleague thinks this is the perfect cure. hair of the dog. >> whi

now back to lester. >> okay, lynn.very much. >>> the parties are over, but for many the hangover from new year's eve is still going strong. how can you cure it? ray is here to tell us how. he is the executive wine editor for "food & wine magazine." i'm chuckling because i feel like i was about to say and drinking expert. >> unfortunately, that may be true to some degree. it's -- yeah, you know, the problem with hangovers, there's actually no cure. you know, unfortunately, the cure is not to drink the night before. that doesn't really work. you can kind of mellow out some of the miserable affects of a hangover. >> you're not a doctor, to start out. the reason i point that out is because a lot of people are going to turn to painkillers. what's the word on those? >> a lot of people are going to turn to painkillers. there's a problem with this. aseat minimum finish and liver and alcohol is not a good combination generally speaking. >> it can be dangerous. >> especially if you drink a lot. all of them are rough on your stom

lynn. >> tracie potts for us in washington. thank you. >>> last night on the ed show, he talked with martin o'malley of maryland about mitt romney's record as a job creator and history of changing his mind on certain issues. >> mitt romney has big, big problems at a time when all of us as americans want to know what we can do as a country to create jobs. here's a guy who in the private sector had no success creating jobs. in fact he made money for wealthy investors by actually stripping companies of jobs. and if you look at his performance as governor of the state of massachusetts, the commonwealth of massachusetts, he actually had that state ranked 47th among 50 states in job creation when he was governor. so will this is not a man who can claim any success in creating jobs. in fact quite to the contrary. and his flip-flops, the waffling back and forth, i think the line that's going to stick with everyone is not that tepid endorsement by jon huntsman, but his rightful observation that mitt romney's not running for the white ho

i'm lynn berry. >>> today we begin with a fiery fight. a week to go before the florida primary, the republican candidates came swinging on a debate last night on nbc. romney accused gingrich of, quote, influence pedaling. nbc steve handelsman reports from tampa. >> reporter: newt gingrich and mitt romney each with one primary win, tried to finish one another off in florida. >> i think it's about leadership and the speaker was given an opportunity to be the leads of our party in 1994 and at the end of four years he had to resign in disgrace. >> i think the american public deserve a discussion about how to beat barack obama and what we would do about the economy. i think this is the worst kind of trivivial plots. >> reporter: ron paul is not contending florida. rick santorum a week third, warns al qaeda could be active in cuba, but in a state hard hit by the housing crisis, freddie mac is an issue. the federally backed lender blamed by many for the mortgage mess. newt gingrich worked for freddy and rel