tv Early Today NBC January 6, 2011 5:00am-5:30am PDT
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this morning on "early today," changing of the guard. republicans take control of the house, pledging a repeal of health care and less spending. midwest tragedy, shots ring out at a nebraska high school leaving two people dead, including the shooter. and animal apocalypse. the big mystery sunding the death of thousands of birds the big mystery sunding the death of thousands of birds spreads overseas. captions paid for by nbc-universal television to you. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the
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pacific time zone. i'm veronica de la cruz. on their first day in control of the house, newly elected speaker john boehner and his fellow republicans flex their majority muscles swinging into action bypassing new rules and promising by changes. nbc's brian moore has details. >> help you god. >> i do. >> reporter: the 112th congress began on a sweet note. >> god bless you, speaker boehner. >> reporter: but it turned bitter and partisan awfully fast. >> mr. speaker, that didn't take long. a republican friends have been in charge of the house for about an hour and already they're up to their old discredited tricks. >> reporter: before voting on new house rules designed to make spending cuts easier -- >> the resolution is adopted. >> reporter: -- democrats sounded off like budget hawks. >> add to burgeoning deficits and debt. >> reporter: even as they get ready to fight gop plans to slash $100 billion in spending. >> we need to prove to the american people that we are willing to stand by the place
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that we said of being frugal with their taxpayer dollars. >> reporter: in his opening speech, speaker boehner offered a simple road map. >> our aim will be to give the government back to the american people. >> reporter: and today on the house floor, lawmakers will read the entire constitution allowac >> in some way it's to marry tea party supporter railroads democrats will be reading, too. no doubt having a slightly different interpretation. brian moore, nbc news, washington. more changes on the horizon with robert gibbs' announcement that he's leaving his post as white house press secretary. at a press conference yesterday, rerevealed plans to begin work as an outside adviser for the president's 2011 campaign. he served as communications director during obama's 2008 presidential run and has been by the president's side since his senate days. white house officials say a
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replacement will be named in the coming weeks before gibbs officially steps down next month. the presidential commission examining the causes of last summer's deadly gulf oil spill blames systemic management problems by the companies building and maintaining the well and warns there could be a repeat of the tragedy without significant reform. releasing a key chapter of its report the panel concludes better decision making by bp, rig owner transocean and halliburton would almost certainly have prevented the accident. in addition to spreading the blame for the disaster, the commission also faulted inadequate government regulation and industry oversight. the full report is due out next week. the mystery why thousands of dead birds are dropping from the sky in the southern united states is deepening this morning. wildlife officials in kentucky say several hundred dead birds were found there in the western part of the state this week. tests rule out diseases or poisons, and experts believe they could have died because of harsh weather.
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meanwhile, in arkansas, officials say fireworks likely caused a mass blackbird plunge while a similar incident in louisiana is being blamed on a collision with a power line. also, an additional bizarre incident, officials in sweden are also reporting a mass unexplained bird death of some 50. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. a missouri officer is on administrative leave while internal affairs investigates a beating recorded by a bystander in which the off duty cop repeatedly hit a man with a baton and pepper sprayed him. the bystander says the officer was out of line, but other witnesses defend the cop saying the man was drunk, disorderly, resistant and behind the wheel of the car. police in ohio are investigating a shooting that caused a man to lose consciousness behind the wheel of an suv and smash into a house. the homeowner was not injured, but police say the driver who was hit in the arm and chest remains in critical condition. part of a ship channel in
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houston was closed after 15,000 gallons of animal fat spewed into it solidifying as it hit the water. the coast guard said a shore-based tank containing about 250,000 gallons of beef tallow developed a leak. an investigation is under way. the environmental effect is expected to be minimal. and in north carolina, a local hospital welcomed an 11 pound, 14-ounce healthy baby boy, one of the biggest babies they have ever delivered. the proud parents enjoyed showing off their new bundle but clothing is an issue. they've had to return all their baby's clothes in exchange for bigger sizes. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. i don't know, bill, what size would you say the baby is wearing already? like a two, like a toddler's two or something? >> what's even more amazing is that the mom looks like she's doing great. >> yeah, i know. kudos to her. >> exactly. pretty impressive stuff.
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let's talk about this weather pattern. impressive rainfall totals in the northwest. temperatures are a little warmer today than yesterday. the exception being vegas and boise. you're still pretty cold. now, along the coast some pacific air has moved in. along with it, a hose of moisture in the pacific. this time it's focused around vancouver island and the puget sound. most of oregon, nevada and california are not seeing this nasty weather. the next day, day and a half, just impressive rainfall totals. you can see a that plume of rain coming into bellingham. in seating, tlseattle, on and o showers. we could possibly see -- this is red. four inches of rain in this area in the northern cascades. already a huge snow pack. with the warm temperatures and the rain, the avalanche threats could be pretty high. there's the wet weather in washington state, especially on the coast. california looks okay. still chilly in vegas.
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of the state. that cut off low out to see is blowing off clouds in the south. san diego, expect mostly cloudy skies. temperature, 65. it's almost the end of the first week of the new year. friday forecast coming up. >> and 65 degrees in san diego, not too shabby. jobs jump, and you think your house is worthless? wait until you hear about the white house. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus a new poll shows the new "american idol" may be doomed to failure. coming up, the baseball hall of fame welcomes two members, the spurs stumble once again, and a penalty shot gone horribly wrong. you're watching "early today."
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good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm veronica de la cruz. here are some of your top headlines this morning. nebraska police say a 17-year-old student opened fire at his high school yesterday, killing the assistant principal and wounding the principal. after the shootings, robert butler jr. killed himself in his car a few blocks away, saying in a suicide note that the school, quote, drove me to this. a new report finds that the first study to link a childhood vaccine to autism was a, quote, elaborate fraud based on doctored information about the children involved. although the 1998 research is now widely discredited, the suggestion that the measles, mumps and rubella shot was con necked to autism panicked many parents to and caused immunization rates to plummet. turkish media says the hijacking of a flight was spoiled yesterday by some of the passengers on board. they reportedly struggled with a
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man claiming to have a bomb. no one was hurt and the plane landed safely. on a recent united airlines flight, it was a much lesser use threat that triggered an emergency. a spilled cup of coffee. the pilot accidentally dropped his cup on the plane's radio equipment setting off a hijack alert. the flight was diverted, delays passengers, but fortunately nothing more serious came of it. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opened at 11,722, after adding 31 points yesterday. the s&p edged up 6 points and the nasdaq rose 20. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei surged 148 points while in hong kong, the hang seng climbed 28. well, jobs and losses on gains on wall street yesterday extending the rally that just won't die. private sector jobs jumped nearly triple what was forecast leading economists to boost
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their forecast for the big december employment report. private employers added almost 300,000 jobs in december. the biggest jump since the report began back in 2000. further shrugging hopes the economy is stronger, a report the service sector grew in december at its fastest pace in more than four years. financials led the gainers led by credit card companies such as capital one finance up over 4%. american express was the dow's biggest gainer, up almost 3%. encouraging data lifted housing stocks with home builder d.r. horton up over 3%. job optimism sent employment agency monster worldwide up more than 3.5%. since the end of october, monster has surged more than 73%. size in the economy is improving, weakened demand for low treasury investments pushing their yields higher. in reaction to those higher bond rates, the dollar rose against other currencies, but not all stocks were winners. family dollar stores dropped almost 9% after reporting lower than expected first quarter
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earnings. and bj's wholesale club fell over 2% after announcing it will cut jobs and close five stores. elsewhere, cell phone chip maker qualcomm is making a play to get into the tablet computer market, buying the technology company for $3.2 billion. finally, it's a national icon, but it's also a symbol of the american housing market. according to the real estate website zillo over the last three years, the white house has lost almost a quarter of its value, down to $253 million. well, rondo is giving mood in beantown, a thriller in new jersey, and who got the call into baseball's hallowed hall? plus, did the hawks fly by the jazz? your early morning sports headlines are just ahead. in today's forecast, it's the last real quiet day around the country. it will get stormy around here friday through the weekend. your thursday forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."
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good thursday morning to you. the spurs may have the best record in the league, but for the second straight night, they stumbled on the road. boston pick it up in the fourth, rondo to davis. jumper tied it at 94-94. rondo, a staggering 22 assists. minutes later, it was ray allen doing his thing. if you've seen it once, you've seen it is 1,000 times. the celts were up by 5. last chance for the spurs, down 2. manu ginobili for the win, but rejected. celts won it. down to the wire. live inside off the mark. right place, right time scored the go ahead bucket. the nets were up two. five seconds left. that was plenty of time for derek rose, but he couldn't get the three to fall. nets the win, 96-94. great shot from crawford. final seconds of the half, crawford heaves one up from the buzzer and banked one from half-court. i don't know if you call it bank but it still counts. that gave atlanta a 14-point lead. they went on to beat the jazz,
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110-87. roberto alomar and bert blyleven are welcomed to the baseball hall of fame. roberto alamar won ten gold gloves at second base. both players won two world series titles. pittsburgh for one of the quickest goals you've ever see, don't blink or you'll miss it. right after the opening drive, malkin got behind the defense and scored, just seven seconds into the game. penguins up, 1-0. fans weren't even in their seats. funny moment in the second, lightnings steven shamcoat awarded a penalty shot. just him and the goalie, what could go wrong? sorry i asked. lost the puck and fell to the ice. stamcoats, one of the leading scorers in the league but you wouldn't have known it for that effort. it on the got worse for tampa. tampa lost it, 8-1. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. early today sports brought to you by lectric shave. sean penn makes a very long-term commitment to giving his help to haiti. your early morning entertainment
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experience heavy rain today, tonight and into tomorrow. portland, you just get some of the clouds from that. medford, chilly. has i've been mentioning, we're slowly going to warm things up. it's going to take a while. pretty cold air mass throughout much of the west. phoenix, 65 on friday. partly cloudy skies in l.a. and 63. we are watching that rain once again up there in the pacific northwest. on friday, some of it could sneak into the portland area. if you're watching us in california's bay area, meet biologists, watch and feed and discover fun facts about fish. check out sharks and rays at the california academy of sciences. that's your pacific event of the day. have you ever fed a stingray? you hold it underneath it and it sucks it on top of it. >> i love to touch tanks. that's like my favorite thing. here's an early look at the headlines in entertainment now. just days after going public with the break-up of his 18-year marriage john mellencamp has
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gone public with a new relationship. as magazine reports that mellencamp was secretly dating actress meg ryan. they were photographed heading out to lunch in new york city. a source told the magazine the "sleepless in seattle" star had nothing do do with the end of mellencamp's marriage. ryan came into the picture much later. actor sean penn who has been working to help the victims of haiti's earthquake for this past year says to his commitment to the country, quote, this is where i will be when i'm not working for the les of my life. finally, bad news for "american idol." 67% in hollywood reporter poll said they thought the best days of the tv singing show was over. only 47% viewers said definitely or probably watch it. you know, it's a whole new era. they've got j.lo. >> the question goes, is it the talent that draws the people to the viewers or is it the people that are judging the talent? when they had carrie underwood
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and clarkson, huge stars. it was an attraction. >> i never watched. wow. >> i'll fill you? >> thank you. this is in nbc 7 in san diego, california. where in one nearby rancho ber nar do customers of one dry-cleaning business go for the service and honesty. these dry-cleaners have found diamonds and credit cards and cash. once, even $10,000 in cash. but they never thought of keeping them for a reason they say is pretty simple. it's nor theirs. one employee recently found $2,000, but she likes to earn her money through hard work, keeping this cleaner's reputation for honesty spotless. i'm veronica de la cruz and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.
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china's winter wonderland has arrived. the world famous snow and ice festival kicked off with an array of sculptures, lights and a grand fireworks display. the 42-day event themed fairytale kingdom dream world features majestic ice castles and character sculptures. the temperature dipped below minus 13 degrees, but that doesn't stop anyone from showing up for the opening night. one turtle in israel is on the road to recovery with a new set of wheels. an accident left the little guy nearly paralyzed, but a local zoo hooked him up with some training wheels.
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the reptile was to enthusiastic about the prosthetics, he broke the first set off. but after fixing him up with stronger pair, you could say he is doing quite well. way to go. and a cute cuddly debut. three white lion cubs made their debut. white lions aren't albino, they get their colors from a recesssive gene and normally come from one area in africa. but in controlled environments like at the zoo with two white lion parents, their births are more common. they are just too cute. >> the crowd loved it, but the mother wasn't very happy. she growled a lot and carried the babies around in her mouth kind of pacing. she'll get used to them, though. they're going to name them this summer. the children are going to have a contest. >> perfect. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. at a sentencing hearing in los angeles, howard k. stern and another former lawyer could both face as many as 3 1/2 years in jail.
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they were found guilty of supplying smith with prescription drugs before her death by accidental overdose in 2007. the world's largest consumer technology trade show kicks off in los angeles where the latest gadgets and gizmos that could soon be in your living room will be on display. and elvis presley's birthday isn't until saturday, but in memphis, die hard fans of the king will kick off a week long celebration today. all day long, you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with nbc "nightly news." and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. find out who is coming and who is going after white house press secretary robert gibbs announced his departure. and from the streets of ohio to new york city, meet the man with the golden voice, ted williams. and now, keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and much more. i'm veronica de la cruz. thanks for watching "early
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today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. the day today on your nbc station. have a terrific thursday. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com i was told that i was at risk for sudden cardiac death. i was 23 years old, i wasn't overweight. i never dreamed this would happen to me. when the doctor told me i had three blocked arteries, i felt like i was punched in the gut.
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