>> by satellite. lights up the sky over california. and other side of the bend. when it comes to jury duty, not even supreme court justices get a pass. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello, and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time sfwloen. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with the next step.

congresswoman gabrielle giffords' road to recovery has been paved. she went outside for the first time yesterday and heads to a rehab center in houston today. nbc's jay gray is live in houston with more on that. jay, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, lynn. yeah, gabrielle giffords has shown amazing resolve in the days since the attack. the doctors and therapists agree that part of her recovery is just about to begin here in houston. . this morning could mark a milestone in the recovery of wounded congresswoman gabrielle giffords. later today less than two weeks after being shot at point-blank range in the head she's scheduled to leave university medical center in tucson. >> i'm extremely hopeful that gabby is going to make a full recovery. i mean, she is a fighter like, you know, nobody else that i know. >> reporter: her fight will now continue at the renowned texas institute of rehabilitation and research at memorial herman hospital in houston. >> we're eager to start the comprehensive rehabilitation

program that will take into consideration not just the physical recovery but also the cognitive and emotional recovery. >> reporter: it's still not clear if giffords can speak or just how much she can see, and while she's been able to move both arms and legs, even stand, doctors still aren't sure how much strength giffords has on the right side of her body and warn it will be a long and difficult road back. >> months. no question months. we're optimistic because her recovery here has been quick. >> reporter:ç optimism shared her husband who made a bold prediction about her recovery and return to tucson. >> she'll be walking, talking, and in two months you'll see her walking through the front door of this building. >> reporter: the difficult first steps in that return trip could come later today in texas. doctors stress they will work on the physical, cognitive and emotional aspects of giffords' recovery. one of the first steps will be to help her relearn what before the task were the simplest of

daily tasks. live in houston, i'm jay gray. lynn, now back to you. >> jay, thanks so much. well, president obama is restructuring his economic advisory board to place a renewed focus on job creation. in a statement released this morning the white house says obama will name general electric ceo jeffrey immelt to head a new board called the president's council on jobs and competitiveness which will focus on work in the private sector. ge is the owner of this network. in an op ed in the washington post this morning immelt says he intends to reach out to labor and business leaders to serve as a "catalyst for action." the board will reportedly replace an existing panel called the president's economic recovery advisory board led by former federal reserve chairman paul volcker who according to reuters news agency is stepping down. here's a look at other news stories making news early today in america. in california a 235 foot tall delta 4 rocket took off from vandenberg air force base.

the payload contains a classified spy satellite. all previous delta 4 launches were all from cape canaveral in florida. in texas the work day turned horrific for auto store employees who were about to close up shop. an armed robber entered waving his gun and demanding money from the safe and the employees' wallets. the suspect's face was caught on surveillance video, but no arrests have been made. in new mexico a teacher did much more than give one of her students a time-out. cell phone video shows the teacher and several students locking up their allegedly unruly classmate in a caged area. authorities say the teacher could face abuse and false imprisonment charges. and in oklahoma icy roads created scary moments for a couple of drivers. icy patches caused one driver to slam a jeep into a center median before rolling over. in another incident an suv skidded down the highway before

the driver could regain control. no injuries were reported in either accident. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the forecast. good morning. >> good morning to you, lynn. that theme is taking place this morning from the central plains through new england. that's a winter storm that's now moving out. it dumped about four to five inches of snow across the ohio valley, and now it's doing that in areas from new york to boston. in the west coast, because the best weather by far still is enjoying great conditions. the exception is up in the pacific northwest. our storm system has pushed up into the gulf ofç alaska and ao into british columbia. it's now bringing that moisture storm all the way through washington state, and rain has moved in just about everywhere from about portland northward and the clouds are increasing now even in southern oregon. the high pressure protects you in nevada, california, and arizona, but we're watching this moisture especially early today. by this afternoon it will lighten up, but the more moderate rain will come now, and you notice even the high elevations, the snow levels are

extremely high in the cascades. we've got a lot of snow melting over the last week or two. you can see the green on here. that rain really filling in now from portland. even southwards down i-5. today's forecast is going to be mild. this isn't warm pacific air. this isn't air from canada. temperatures will be in the upper 40s. the rain will be more steady this morning, lightening up this afternoon. medford, increasing clouds for you. boise, should take rain out of this this afternoon too, but look at san francisco to l.a. to phoenix and vegas. what a great stretch of mid-january weather. you know it can't continue forever, but as of now you're looking great. some of the colder air is filtering back down into areas of the rockies, but even 39 in montana is not bad this time of year. that's a look atshington, no prs on the roads. 36 degrees.

weekend forecast coming up. >> bill, thanks so much. also coming up, tech giants shake up their executive offices. just in time for friday, we're going to have a faster way to get that brewski for you. plus, "the black swan" opened weeks ago, so why is it expected to play a role in box office expectation this is weekend? coming up, a great go on the ice. they get it done on the court, and you won't believe what happened at the aussie open.

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here's some of your top headlines this morning. the fbi has conducted the largest round-up of suspected mafia members in the nation's history, charging nearly 130 people in the northeast with crimes ranging from execution-style slayings to ellegal card games. in a news conference yesterday attorney general eric holder

said the suspects are "among the most dangerous criminals in our country." pennsylvania's governor is vowing decisive action to determine why regulators ignored reports of wretched conditions at an abortion clinic where at least one mother died and seven viable babies were killed. the head of the philadelphia facility which was described as a "house of horrors" is now being held in jail without bail after being arraigned on eight murder counts. well, despite budget concerns, nasa has announced plans to send an additional space shuttle mission to the international space station in late june. the atlantis flight would be the final mission to space. she serves on the nation's highest çcourt, but even supre court justice elana has to report for jury duty. she was spotted yesterday at washington d.c.'s superior court, but she was not called and left at the end of the day. and now here's an early look at

one of your top health headlines on msnbc.com. an independent panel of experts commissioned by the government has issued new guidelines for osteoporosis screening. they're recommending for the first time that women younger than 65 and as young as 50 get bone density scans if they're at high risk of a bone fracture. those risks include a family history of osteoporosis, low body weight, and drug and alcohol use. for more information on this and other health stories, you can check out the health page at msnbc.com. >> narrator: early today health is brought to you by vagisil wash, the healthy clean. now here's how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens after shedding two points yesterday. the s&p was down a point. the nasdaq fell 21. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo the nikkei lost 162 points, wheel in hong kong the hang seng dropped 126.

there should be plenty of talk today about high level shake-ups at two top tier companies. google announced ceo eric schmidt would hand back the reigns to co-founder larry paige. schmidt was called in during google's early days to supervise then 20-something co-founder larry paige and sergei brin. shares were up following the news, which upstaged google's healthy earnings. hewlett-packard is revamping its boardroom with four new directors, including former ebay ceo meg whitman. hp wants to ramp up the foreign-based presence and smooth the transition at the top after the controversial exit of former chief mark herd. well, concerns that china will take steps to slow its economic expansion and commodities and material stocks lower thursday. freeport mcmorings dropped 4%ç despite upbeat earnings, but earnings were offset, and fewer weekly jobless claims. meanwhile, new labor data

shows despite double digit unemployment over much of the past two years over a million foreign-born workers found jobs in the u.s., many of them illegally. back on the street, morgan stanley shares shot up after healthy fourth quarter earnings reports. bank of america shares are lower after missing earnings estimates before the bell, and ge, the current owner of this network, also reported this morning. they reported better than expected fourth quarter earnings and revenue. finally, it's friday, and we've already got happy hour on the brain. with an invention that gives new meaning to the term bottoms up. the patent beer tap fills special cups from the bottom up getting rid of the foam at the top and filling glasses quicker. the dallas stars skate into the record books, and a dead spot down under. mrushgs one reverse layup isn't enough for chicago's eric rose.

your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. the weekend forecast features bitterly cold air in the middle of the country and nice warm air in the west coast. your friday forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you are just waking up, this

is "early today." in sports chicago's derek rose had plenty of tricks up his sleeve last night in the square-off with the mavericks. here's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good friday morning. we know the bull, derek rose, is a perennial all-star, but he could be mvp the way he has been playing. rose of a human highlight reel. bulls up nine at the break. to the fourth, and this is not a replay. another dazzling reverse by rose. there hasn't been a player this dominant in chicago since some guy named jordan. rose simply too much for the mavs with a game high 26, and the bulls won it 82-77. it was a coming out party of sorts for d.j. augustine. he scored 25 in the first half. cooled off in the second andç finished with a career high 31 against the 6ers. this came down to the final minute. gerald henderson hits the long jumper to put it away after a

rocky start to the season. bobcats are starting to turn it around. they won it 100-97. a couple of great plays for the oilers game. jamie in all alone. fake to his left. with one hand on his stick, he went back to the right to beat the goalie. that game with the lead. the stars' goalie, a glove save. stars got it done on both ends and won it 4-2. weird moment at the aussie open. a ball girl noticed something wrong with the court. she dropped the ball, and it didn't bounce back. we can't have that in tennis. they determined it wasn't the ball, but an air bubble under the court. officials drilled a few holes to let out the air. problem solved. no dead spots in sharapova's game. she advanced to the fourth round. that's your early look at sports on "early today." have a terrific weekend. i'm fred roggin. jesse james finds his next leading lady. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, as some kids dread

going to school, this high school freshman is going to extreme lengths to be sure he doesn't miss one second of it. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this friday morning. rain on the moderate and heavy side this morning around portland. a wet commute this morning, but a little better this afternoon. what a beautiful weather pattern

for much of the southwest this weekend. from phoenix to l.a. to san diego and san francisco looking good. i notice we're dry on saturday in the pacific northwest. then on sunday it's an increase in clouds. we continue with great weather. almost up near 80 in l.a. yesterday we had a lot of santa ana winds. gusty, warm winds, and that trend could continue. especially into any of the mountain passes. if you are watching us on knsd 739 san diego, california, see works of art, including painting, and sculpture, and prints related to the human at my and human body with the theme of contemporary art, and that's your pacific event of the day. >> all right. thanks so much. now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. this weekend we're going to find out whether any movie can swat theç green hornet. the flick was pap hit last weekend with $33 million. with no other wide releases, the big question is whether natalie portman's popularity and recent golden globe for "the black

swan" will make her new movie about a couple exploring a casual relationship over the top. made for a modest $25 million, strings doesn't need much to be a success. elsewhere according to "people magazine", tattooed bad boy jesse james is engaged to tattoo artist kat vondee less than a year with his split with sandia bullock over his alleged infidelity. finally, many have wondered whether "american idol" can survive without simon cowel. it probably won't help that ratings for the show's tenth season premier dropped double digits from last year despite the high profile addition of jennifer lopez and steven tiyle to the judge's panel. i have so ask you, did kat, jesse james thing, talk about a shift from mesh's sweetheart, huh? >> um, i don't know a lot about the tattoo world there that they're in. >> you don't, bill? are you just playing coy?

really? >> i don't. >> he takes off his blazer, and he has sleeves like you wouldn't believe. >> that's what you like, huh? >> exactly. from kfdx 3 news in wichita falls, texas, where one high school freshman has a first day of school he has been waiting for his entire life. lindon has been kept out of school because he suffers from a kidney disease and immune deficiency, but now thanks to new robotic technology he is able to attend classes and get lessons from his teachers all from his home. the teen says what he loves the most about that is just being able to interact with kids his age. good for him. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

newborns are a handful. especially these little ones. a zookeeper in germany is hand rearing three lion cubs wrish their mother gave birth by c-section and was too weak to care for them, so official advisory had to care for them, and they hand feed them every three hours, but they're want sleeping through the night. their breed is extinct in the wild and only 70 are known to be in captivity. the army is no place for the weak, and here's proof. one camp offered eight hours of training to test ebb durns and discipline. a special commando group ran drills in very tough conditions, including 14 degree weather. some were happy to face the challenge. others not so much. one camper left promising to be

nicer to his mother. well, the reviews are in for one hotel in madrid, and it's garbage. literally. it's made from over 25,000 pounds of garbage collected from landfills and beaches around europe. those behind the five room hotel are hoping to bring awareness to consumers, and while it's only open for a few more days, potential guests will be happy to hear the trash has been disinfected. >> it's all organic, though, so it's perfect. >> biodegradable. i want to know if there's a discount for having to sleep in a pile of garbage. >> depends how many rats are in your room. >> time for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. in washington there will be a public wake for sergeant shriver, the first director of the peace corps and brother-in-law of former president john f. kennedy. he died this week at the age of 95. in arkansas a hearing is set

for one of two men accused of stealing the data of 120,000 i pad users. among the potential victims, new york city mayor michael bloomberg and former white house chief of staff rahm emanuel. and there will be a hearing and perjury trial of barry bonds. the charges relate to testimony the former san francisco giants slugger made in which he denied ever knowingly used steroids. all day long you can stay on top of the latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. tonight be sure to watch brian williams with nbc nightly news. finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on ""the today show"." al roker tracks the new winter storm that's hammering the northeast, and hear from the family members of a woman who was reunited with her family after being kidnapped as an infant. 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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