this morning on "early today" -- somber good-bye. the youngest victim of saturday's tragic shooting in tucson is laid to rest. rain of death. the toll rises in the wake of devastating rain and mudslides in brazil. and fire in the hole. a spectacular nighttime show from europe's largest active volcano. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry. today, we begin with moving forward. the second of six funerals will

held this morning for victims of the last weekend's tragic shooting in tucson. federal judge john roll will be laid to rest a day after family and friends gathered to say good-bye to the youngest victim, 9-year-old christina taylor green. meanwhile, investigators in the case have uncovered new evidence. nbc's jay gray reports. >> reporter: investigators now confirm a black bag with 9 millimeter ammunition inside was found by a neighbor just blocks from jared loughner's house, and is likely the one the accused gunman was spotted with just hours before the attack. as their investigation continues, later today friends and family will say a final good-bye to federal judge john roll killed in the attack. yesterday, the youngest of the victims was the first to be buried. >> but she has found her dwelling place in god's mansion. she went home. >> reporter: images can't capture the depth of their pain. classmates forced to learn lessons that should come much

later in life, if ever at all. in the midst of all the overwhelming struggle they amongst all they have faced, many say the hope they have will come from the strength and courage of the survivors. survivors like gabrielle giffords. doctors confirmed giffords has moved both arms and legs and now and they have already started physical therapy. >> we're starting to exercise her muscles, getting her balance in shape and getting stimulus to the brain. >> reporter: something else has happened here today. >> yes. miracles happen every day. >> reporter: miracles that so many here desperately need right now. jay gray, nbc news, tucson. meanwhile, nasa now has a backup plan in place. in case captain mark kelly, the commander of the final space shuttle flight, cannot fly because of the condition of his

wife, congresswoman gabrielle giffords. kelly has been training for well over a year for the april launch of "endeavour," but with his wife recovering from a shot to the head in tucson, veteran commander rick sturckow has been named mark kelly's replacement. and reaching survivors of one of the country's worst natural disasters in brazil's country in decades. its claimed the lives of nearly 500 people. this dramatic rescue captured a river of mud ripped a dog from the woman of one woman saved by her neighbor. meteorologists say intense downpours are expected to continue throughout sunday. further complicating relief and recovery efforts. the late pope john paul ii is one step closer to achieving sainthood. after pope benedict ruled the beloved pontiff had performed at

least one miracle before his death, according to church officials, a 48-year-old french nun diagnosed with parkson's was inex-splikably cured of the disease two months after praying for the late pope. the beatification sarm ceremony will the held at the vatican making the pope a saint. and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. in florida, two men dressed as women were arrested for allegedly shoplifting from a home depot. police say the men used purses to steal drill batteries, each worth more than $100. when employees confronted them, the men ran. police caught up to them, arresting a third man in a getaway car. in alabama add one more to it recent bizarre mass animal deaths. about 300 blackbirds lay scattered across the highway.

one wildlife biologist speculated the birds could have died simply by flying across the road and into a semitruck. however, scientists are testing samples to determine the cause of death. the annual farm show is underway. expected to come and see the greatest of the state's agriculture industry. that includes horse-pulling contests and square dancing. the cutest has to be the baby ducks on slides. finally -- in massachusetts -- this week's big snowstorm may have moved on, but they'll be dealing with the mess it left behind for some time to come. some mall shoppers found a way around it, though. squeezing into parking spaces around huge mountains of snow. that's a shot. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. bill, good morning. >> so cold, lynn, around the country. the mall's probably -- one of the more entertaining places to go.

>> yeah, and movies. >> movie, too. talk about what's happening in the west this weekend. a series of storms affecting the pacific northwest, while if you want warm, beautiful conditions head to southern california or arizona. you'll probably have the best weather in the entire nation in the days ahead. warm high pressure off the coast will protect you. the stormy weather's all up here to the west. we've seen one storm already. the second one is now moving in. the rain's going to pick up in intensity if it hasn't already. how quickly all the rain moved in. showing on the radar by green. the white is were where we're showing you the snow. it's warm. even high elevations are mostly rain. that's why the avalanche threat is high. rainfall predictions, the yellow coloring along the spine of mountains, up to two inches of rain with the system. valleys, half inch to an inch. significant rain event. forecast for today, mostly cloudy skies if not cloudy. all from medford, the rain primarily up interstate 5 spreading to xoe cane latspread

ing to sacramento, 60 degrees. tucson looking nice. sunny and 70. lynn, wouldn't those 80s be nice in southern california? weekend forecast coming up. >> ah, we can just dream. bill, thanks so much. the day ahead in stocks. fancy food as an investment and wacky wall street salaries. and a sting at the box office this weekend. cam newton makes a decision about his future, karma gets the best of james, and the pats' wes welker puts his foot in his mouth. you're watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. secretary of defense hillary clinton bluntly criticized leaders calling on them to do more as cleaning up the borders. while in qatar she said they need to clean up their economies or lose out to extremism. and the shooting death of an estranged wife as he held their 17-month-old daughter in his arms. in alabama, he was executed for the shooting death of his estranged wife. 52-year-old leroy wright died of lethal injection despite a plea from his now grown daughter that he be spared. italy's mt. edna is active again, sending a cloud of ash

high into the air, the fresh eruption from europe's largest active volcano forced the closure of a nearby airport yesterday. scientists say they've discovered a new dinosaur species in northeastern argentina which may have been an early ancestor of the tyrannosaurus rex. it stood on two feet. like t-rex. it measured only four feet long and was lightweight at just 10 to 15 pounds. if you like to read your daily horoscope, arguing a shift in the earth's alignment over thousands of years has shifted zodiac dates by about a month, and added an unpronounceable 13th sign, which applies to those born in early december. think about it. pretty interesting. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day -- the dow opens at 11,731 after falling 23 points yesterday. both the s&p and the nasdaq dipped 2. taking a look at overseas trading this morning -- in tokyo, the nikkei lost 90 points. but in hong kong, the hang seng added 44. well we have two big companies weighing in. today's trading should be all about earnings.

after the bell, intel posted better than expected revenue and forecast a positive yearly outlook. shares climbed after hours and intel's upbeat report should set a positive tone for the tech sector today, and the street could be swayed by jpmorgan, due to roll out its quarterly report before the opening bell. a number of reports to factor in today including retail sales, consumer sentiment and updates on business inventories. on thursday, markets tumbled after first-time applications for unemployment rose to the highest level since october. merck drag down the dow falling 6% after a setback in clinical trials for a new cardiovascular drug. merck dragged the dow down following setbacks in a trial for a new cardiovascular drug. stock is up nearly 80% over the last year. it's tax time again and this

year, the treasury department is looking to save a few bucks by switching from tax refund checks to prepaid debit cards. the pilot program will be offered to some 600,000 low to moderate income americans. and finally, as if wall street needed fuel for any more resentment. according to a recent report, wall street traders earned more than brain surgeons. for example, a typical oil trader with ten years experience earning about a million bucks versus a neurosurgeon with the same experience who makes less than $600,000 a year. well, the heisman winner decides his future. the thunder makes noise, and the agony of defeat. plus, while the king's away, the nuggets make hay. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. >> cold air dominates the weather map bought new storm moving into the pacific northwest. a new storm is coming ining "eat

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, the king sat out with a sprained ankle last night and his court just wasn't the same. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> hi there. good morning. after the cavaliers embarrassing loss to the lakers, lebron james tweeted, karma is a bleep. then he went out and sprained

his ankle in the process. yep. lebron, karma will get you every time. the nuggets could do no wrong. they led by 17 at the half. 30 after three quarters. they cruised and handed the heat their second loss in as many nights. turkoglu and howard had 39 points. plus a pretty good game. off the steal, the lay-up. he scored 32 plus 10 rebounds and 10 helper. kevin durant had 36. none bigger than this jumper in the find seconds. thunder wins 125-124. a.p. national player of the year -- check. heisman trophy winner. check. cam newton has done it all at the college level, and now he's making the leap to the nfl. newton will skip his senior season to enter the nfl draft. he did it with his arms and legs in college scoring 50 touchdowns and will take that to the pros.

jets and patriots have been exchanging jabs all week long, but now, welker poked fun at rex ryan's foot fetish videos in a his own special way. >> it's a playoff atmosphere. you can't just stick your toe in the water. especially you got your foot up in the air and want to go out there and just put your best foot forward. he's a great player. he has good feet. he moves around really well. >> welker made a reference to feet 11 times during the press conference. well, it is football. that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. >> announcer: "early today" sports is brought to you by, touch of gray. get rid of some gray. never all. martha stewart tries to keep a stiff upper level. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, we'll tell you about a dad and his daughter with zebra in their genes. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. we started with the hawaiian island. yesterday heavy rain moved through, flash flooding happened. the pga tour event out this this week wansalled yesterday because of the weather. cloudy skies, chances of showers. not the heavy, heavy downpours like we did yesterday. as far as the rest of the west coast, here's your forecast. watching partly cloud toy mostly

cloudy skies across all of the northwest. southern california, warmer spots as we go throughout the weekend. saturday in l.a., 82. phoenix at 72. great weather there. notice the wet weather continues in the northwest. it's really a split pattern here where you're gorgeous here at southern california. so enjoy it while it lasts. if you're watching on klir 6 in palm spring, california, a collection of monet, picasso and more. masters of impressionism and modern art at the heather james fine art gallery in palm desert, california. that's your pacific event of the day. >> thanks, bill. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. despite promising entries at the box office weekend, the experts say no contest. regardless of bad reviews, "the green hornet" has a lot going for it. seth logan is riding a box office wave. there hasn't been a knew super hero on the big screen for a while, and it's showing in pricier 3d and imax theaters. analysts say

it will be number one. between $35 million and $34 million. its competition, "the dilemma," faces a few dilemmas. even with vince vaughn and winona ryder, it's only showing interest with older women. in fact, research says the plot about a guy who discover, his best friend's wife is having an affair is a real turnoff for men. expect a distant second with $15 million to $20 million. finally, this week, martha stewart's french bulldog head butted the domestic diva and sent her to the emergency room with nine stitches on her upper lip. stewart joked in her hospital room that it needed a makeover. maybe a little robin's on the wall. >> very nice, lynn. >> her prized possession. this bulldog. >> she can get a padded helmet

with flowers. >> put it in her powder room. well, this comes from nbc 6 in miami, florida, where one proud dad is passing out his love for the game to his daughter. a basketball referee for the past 40 year, but the 67-year-old says it's time to hang up the whistle, but he got to spend what could be his final day on the court with his daughter lindsay at his side. he's proud that she's following in his footsteps and as her biggest fan now plans to cheer her on from the stands. that's a great story. isn't it, bill? >> it is. you take after your dad? >> i played basketball, my dad as well, but i was terrible at it. you can give me credit for that? right. >> you got in your back pocket. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

here's new meaning to spin cycle. a michigan woman turned her laundry lint into a replica of the last supper. the 14 foot long, 4 foot tall spin on da vinci's masterpiece took 23 hours to create and landed a spot in ripley's believe it or not museum. one dutch gamer will blow you away. he set a guinness world record for playing a video game while free falling. from with an indoor skydiving tunnel, he held control of the gaming device and himself for 18 1/2 minutes,

three minutes longer than the time for a new record. his game of choice? mario brothers. good choice. and this next hopeful wasn't playing around. he pulled three buses and an suv more than 40 feet with his hair. the 140,000 load might have seemed like nothing compared to his next world record attempt. he endured 350,000 building blocks being smacked on his head. surely, he would argue, it's all worth it. the new world champion set two new records. >> which one is more impressive to you? >> the building blocks. >> see, the hair thing -- you think the whole scalp would -- >> well, i bonk my head on a cabinet, and -- i'm a baby about it. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc -- in washington, president obama will attend funeral services for ambassador richard holbrooke. holbrooke, who was special envoy for afghanistan and pakistan and served under five different

presidents die last month at the age of 69. pakistan's president is also in the capital to attend the services. republicans will choose the head of the national republican committee. and a special anniversary right here on nbc. on this day in 1952, the "today" show made its premier. 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 the latest signs of progress for congresswoman giffords on her amazing road to recovery. and a special look back at the most memorable from the past 60 years of "today." and now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a good one.

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