actually led to progress toward the budget deal? >> reporter: well, i don't think anybody was expecting a budget deal to come out of this, but the goal of the white house was two-fold. first of all, to express with these republicans to show that the president is willing to compromise, but the other is to open the door, open the tone for these discussions and to really create the right type of atmosphere for compromise. now, the president may have scored political points as well being hammered by republicans who said he spent too much time out of washington and not enough here sitting down with them. meantime, on the same day republicans on the house side passed a new budget that keeps last year's spending for most departments and keeps those controversial sequestration cuts in place for the next year. democrats don't like that budget. it's unclear how it may be received in the senate. mara? >> tracie potts live in washington. thank you. the ambitious filibuster by kentucky senator rand paul to

halt a nomination of john brennan to lead the cia is finally over. but the senator didn't go down without a fight. the tea party favorite went on and on and on for nearly 13 hours after taking to the floor just before noon on wednesday. he said the move was in response to attorney general eric holder's refusal to rule out hypothetical use of predator drones on american soil. this isn't sit well with lawmakers and paul said he was not satisfied with the administration's legal reasoning. >> i can't imagine that we're going to have drone strikes on people while they're asleep in their home. or whether they're out eating in a cafe or eating in a restaurant, i can't imagine that's the standard we're going to use. maybe it's just a misunderstanding. maybe the president can clear this up. >> brennan's nomination won approval on tuesday by the senate intelligence committee in a 12-3 vote. a full senate vote could come as early as today. a bill that would strengthen laws against gun trafficking appears to be gaining momentum in congress.

the committee will meet today to mark up four bills aimed to reduce gun violence. among them, a piece of legislation to make it a federal crime for a person barred from owning a gun to purchase a firearm. also under proposal, reasonable cause to believe that a firearm will be used in a criminal act but make the sale anyway would be punished. meanwhile, talks aimed at requiring more background checks fell apart this week. a new quinnipiac poll shows many want background checks. a deadly lion attack at a private animal sanctuary in california. 24-year-old intern diana hanson was killed by a 4-year-old african lion named kus kus after entering the animal's enclosure. she was one of the two volunteers at the survival cat haven east of fresno. deputies were later forced to shoot and kill the lion after failing to lure him into another area of the park. california's department of fish and wildlife are unaware of state regulations prohibiting an employee from going inside an

animal's pen and they are looking into what provoked the animal to become violent so quickly. outrage from some family members of victims killed in 9/11 terror attacks to the change in policy to allow knives on airplanes. the transportation security administration said starting april 25th, passengers can carry short folding knives onto flights. unions for flight attendants oppose the policy and federal air marshalls are also blasting the decision. screeners will still confiscate razor blades and box cutters. relatives of some of the september 11th victims want the policy rolled back. one asked, quote, what's the difference between a pocket knife and a box cutter? and another calls it, quote, a dreadful mistake to loosen the rules. turning now to syria, the u.n. says about 20 peacekeepers are being held by opposition forces in the country. amateur video on the internet reports capture of u.n. vehicles but nbc news could not verify that. the peacekeepers were reportedly part of a force that monitors a cease-fire between israeli and

syrian troops in the golan heights. the u.n. says more than 1 million syrian refugees have fled to the country. for the latest on the weather now, we'll go to bill karins. >> d.c. and out west of d.c. were hit hard. that big ocean storm is now cranking and affecting new england. some of the same areas hit by hurricane sandy are dealing with high tides this morning and beach erosion and large waves. it looks like a very impressive storm from outer space looking down on the satellite. d.c. was mostly a heavy, wet snow that melted when it went on the ground. so they didn't get a lot of accumulation there, but other areas did. anyone traveling to the northeast could have some experience in delays, especially boston, hartford, providence. a lot of this snow is not a big deal for new england, but for march kind of impressive. in the march we have our own storm system diving down to the south. it is just offshore here that could kick up a few showers and stray thunderstorm this afternoon. doesn't have a lot of moisture with it, but it will have some.

so we are going to keep forecasts of showers in the forecast. again, these are very light amounts. and eventually some of this is actually going to go to arizona, which could really use the wet weather. they have not had much throughout the winter. showers in the northwest and a few showers here in coastal areas of southern california. that's a look at them or two for sacramento and santa rosa. after the storm system heads to the middle of the country, the west coast warms up with a decent weekend ahead for them. >> good for them. happy to hear that. thank you, bill. coming up, the latest details on a young woman mauled by a lion. an identity thief gets caught in the act. and a media blackout for the cardinals in rome. plus, the murder trial for jodi arias gets even more

bizarre with the jury asking her more than 100 questions. "early today" is back in two minutes.

welcome back. stories making news this morning, venezuela is preparing for the state funeral of former president hugo chavez. thousands jammed the streets of caracas as his body was moved to a military academy. a little there's a new poll on the democratic candidates. hillary clinton and chris christie. the poll shows clinton leading christie by eight points, 45% to 37%. clinton also faired well against marco rubio. the poll gives her a 16-point edge, 50% to 34%. it's a slightly closer match-up with former vp nominee paul ryan, the wisconsin congressman trails clinton by 12 points. vice president joe biden hasn't said if he'll run to take his boss's place, but if he does

he's trailing chris christie 43% to 40%. meanwhile, the state and defense are done, but the jury has some questions for murder defendant jodi arias. jurors submitted more than 100 questions after she spent more than two weeks on the stand discussing the murder of her ex. arizona allows jurors to pose questions to witnesses. former arizona congresswoman gabrielle giffords is again calling on congress to take action on gun control. giffords returning to the tucson site where a gunman shotter in the head and killed six others. >> be bold, be courageous, please support background checks. and floridians may want to take cover. mega mosquitoes could invade the sunshine state this summer after wild weather forced the larva to hatch. they could be two times the size of a normal mosquito, about the

size of a quarter. to what the cdc says is a nightmare super bug in the nation's hospitals, a deadly bacteria has a fatality rate of 50%. the outbreak known as cre infections have occurred in 42 states, though they have been contained to hospitals and nursing homes mainly affecting those with compromised immune systems. turning now to business, facebook users can expect more changes ahead as the social network prepares to unveil a substantial redesign to its newsfeed. speculation has that the revamp will allow users to filter it to make it more content-specific to keep users engages and advertisers interested. we'll see how time warner's stock fares today on the corporate publishing unit being forced into a separately owned traded company. carl icon has reportedly taken a 6% stake in struggling pc maker dell lending weight to shareholders opposed to a company buyout priced at $24.4 billion. madison avenue appears to be

warming up to the idea of same sex marriage featuring gay and lesbian couples in ads. the ad features husbands of traditional and same sex marriages. the travel corporation that manages the grand canyon sky walk filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy after a federal judge uphead a $28 million judgment from a las vegas land developer. don't worry, the sky walk will remain open. and taco bell fans wait no more. the fast food chain announced it will release the new cool ranch do rito shell a day earlier. fans complained that their local restaurants didn't have them. say it ain't so. wait until we tell you what this new dog is. and the sharks are swarming off our coast. and blake griffin wows them with a new super dunk. you're watching "early today."

and now to some other stories that caught our eye this morning. we start in connecticut where a cup of joe stopped a would-be robber. a dunkin' donuts employee tossed scalding hot coffee at a man trying to hold up the restaurant. things got even hotter for the suspect when she hit him with the whole pot forcing him to drive off. no arrests have been made. in palm beach, florida, a large school of sharks caused several red flags to go up.

beachgoers were warned to stay out of the water after hundreds were spotted lurking near shore. officials say thousands of sharks have migrated to the area since the beginning of the month. and finally a colorado waitress experienced a jaw dropping moment when her stolen i.d. was used by a patron to order a drink. >> i handed it right back to her and said, sure, i'll be right back with your margarita. i went straight to the phone, called the cops. >> well, the thief's blunder landed her in cuffs and gave the waitress a crazy, memorable day at work. turning to sports. the unranked in college hoops. georgetown took on unranked villanova and jayvaughn pinskton poured on 20 points to beat the hoyas 67-57. this is nova's third time this season knocking off a top-five team. and georgia tech tipped in a basket at the buzzer. the yellow jackets over the hurricanes 71-69. turning now to the nba with time running out miami's lebron

james drove the lane and scooped in the winning layup against the orlando magic. that's the heat's 16th straight win, a franchise record, but nowhere near the all-time win streak record of 33 games in 1971 and '72. and check out this jamaal crawford to black griffin super dunk. the clippers had the game well in hand when clifford takes it and passes it through the regular. l.a. beat milwaukee 117-101. in the nhl a fight broke out just 26 seconds into the game between toronto and ottawa as the mapleleaves frazer mclaren and david dziurzynski round off. he was out cold. and a man took a shot to help his wife recently diagnosed with cancer. his aim was perfect and the big check will go to pay his wife's medical bills. and nfl quarterback michael vick has a new dog. you remember vick served more than two years in prison for his involvement in an illegal

dogfighting ring. his new pup is a belgian malinois used by the police and military. they say it's potentially dangerous and may not be the best choice for someone with a history of dogfighting. >> announcer: "early today" sports is brought to you by touch of gray. get rid of some gray, never all. just ahead, get ready for a preview of "the hangover iii." and justin timberlake is stirring it up ahead of this week's "saturday night live." details coming up.

welcome back. we are looking not too stormy today, but we have some rain near california, a half inch of rain, which is a big deal in that area. showers in the forecast for sacramento down to los angeles today. most areas will remain dry. if you are hit by the showers, probably more unlucky than anything else. tomorrow the storm system tapers across california to arizona where they need the rain. phoenix, tucson, even up to flagstaff, you could be dealing with it in the higher terrain, and a significant snow event for arizona. they could use it, they need it. >> thank you so much, bill. turning now to entertainment, actress valerie harper perhaps best known as rhoda morgenstern from "the mary tyler moore show" said she's been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. harper shared the sad news with "people" magazine. fellow celebrities have reached out in support. mary tyler moore is absolutely devastated by the news. moore underwent surgery herself

in 2011 to remove a benign brain tumor. terrence howard said that "ironman" killed his career. it would have required that he take a pay cut after the highest paid member of the original cast including more money than robert downey jr. >> that's a fun fact. >> it is. little miss sunshine is all grown up, abigail breslin spoke with reporters about growing up on screen during the premier for her newest movie, "the call." she said the transis has been pretty natural and she feels lucky for her role. and gearing up for round three. check out one of the first posters for "the hangover iii." it shows the face-off similar to that of the dramatic "harry potter" finale. and if you can't wait until march 9 to see justin timberlake on "saturday night live," kenan thompson joins j.t. in the promo. let's take a look. >> j.t. is back, k.t. and j.t.

in the house. >> what what? >> j.t. -- >> i was celebrating, not acting. and after ten years, stacy and clinton are putting away the minnillos. they're making the run from boxy cuts and mom jeans. >> that was my favorite show, i cannot believe it is over. >> you are mocking my sorrow, bill. i'm really upset about this. hopefully there's a netflix collection somewhere. >> it was a show? >> i'm done talking to you. >> i'm mara schiavocampo, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

stories leading the news this morning. "the los angeles times" is covering the mauling of the 24-year-old intern lion attack saying anyone in the cage was irresponsible. and in "the new york times" arkansas adopts a ban on abortions after 12 weeks which makes it by far the most restricted ban on abortion. well, the san diego zoo is welcoming their newest member. kayode is the 93rd southern rhino to be born at the zoo. the third generation in his family to be born at this particular exhibit. the little calf is already showing off his personality. he's galloping around and playfully sticking out his tongue. at 9 days old he already weighs 130 pounds. in thailand, another little baby is making his debut. a baby koala just 7 months old has opened his eyes and emerged

from his mother's pouch for the first time still clinging close to mama bear. this little tyke looks pretty shy and sleepy most of the time. but visitors flocked to the zoo to see the tenth koala cub born at the chiang mai zoo. he's a cutie, too. and here's a riddle for you. what does "sesame street" have in common with justin bieber and lady gaga? 1 billion youtube views. in a new video celebrating the milestone, the sesame street channel uploaded their first video in 2006. they now have a whopping 1,374 clips and counting. children want to watch the same thing over and over again. >> and they love it. i'm probably responsible for a couple thousand of those. >> is that how you baby sit or called effective childcare? >> he uses the ipad. he can scroll and click on the "sesame street" videos. >> mine is 14 months and does

the same. time for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. president obama will sign into law the violence against women act. last week, the house of representatives passed an extension to the act that expands federal protections to gay, lesbian, transgender, native american and immigrant women. federal regulators are expected to issue a report on their investigation into boeing 787's dreamliner battery fires. the federal aviation administration said to be close to approving tests for boeing's proposed fix for the batteries and the tests could begin next week. and happy birthday to our own colleague usually wishing others happy birthday. the "today" show's willard scott turns 79. just 21 more years and he can get on the smuker's jar. and jeff rossman puts car dealers to the test into an investigation on used car safety defects. and legendary actress maggie smith opens up about her role on "downton abbey" and the new film "quartet." that's it for us. stay here for more news, weather and sports. i'm mara schiavocampo. thanks for watching.

>> reporter: it is going to be a sad and emotional day for law enforcement, not just here in the bay area but statewide as hp pavilion in san jose gets ready to host a memorial for the fallen officers out of santa cruz. an upscale neighborhood in the south bay rocked by violence. the homicide investigation that has neighbors on edge. >> they're lions. wild animals. >> a young woman mauled to death by a lion in california. what we're now learning about the victim and the odd connection to the ellen degeneres show. a live look outside spanning over san francisco. you can see the palace of fine arts in your lower left-hand

corner. a brisk start to your thursday, march 7th. this is "today in the bay." >> ladies and gentlemen, look who is back next to me. she's here. good morning, everybody. it's 4:30. i'm jon kelley. we know who you are. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. i am happy to be back. thanks so much. let's check in with meteorologist christina loren. i haven't seen you for a while either. >> welcome back, laura. we need laura today because we have a big show for you. this morning we do have showers on the radar. nothing really worth showing you. santa rosa getting a stray shower or two. there's a lot more rain on the way. we're also expecting strong thunderstorms in the bay area. this morning, grab your coat. 36 degrees in santa rosa. 36 in napa. 43 in sunnyvale. we have a chance for low level snow yet again. potentially a mix down to 500 feet. we're notee