have a great night. hope to see you tomorrow. buh-bye! [ cheers and applause ] ♪ this morning on "early today," executive assessment. in his state of the union address, president obama warns the american dream is under siege. rough seas. some tense moments as a police boat capsizes off the coast of australia. and stunning display. cameras are rolling as the northern lights illuminate the sky over norway. 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 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 secretary in taxes, most americans would call that common sense. >> reporter: promising to fight, president obama announced a special group of prosecutors to investigate risky mortgages and new opportunities for homeowners to save up to $3,000 a year by refinancing. >> no more red tape. it's time to aply the same rules from top to bottom. no bailouts. no handouts. no copouts. >> reporter: he picked some efforts that failed before, ending oil subsidies, getting rid of underperforming teachers, and he warned colleges to put the brakes on rising tuition. >> if you can't stop tuition from going up, the funding you will get from taxpayers will go down. >> reporter: that, plus eliminating tax breaks for companies that send jobs overseas. >> use half of it to pay down our debt and use the rest to do some nation building right here

at home. >> reporter: republicans call the president's ideas extreme. >> no feature of the obama presidency has been sadder than its constant efforts to divide us, to curry favor with some americans. >> reporter: a blueprint promising progress for a dividing nation. and before that speech, take a look at the big hug president obama gave to arizona congresswoman gabrielle giffords. it was one of her final appearances as a member of congress. she announced earlier this week that she will be stepping down to focus on her recovery after being shot in the head at an event in her district just over a year ago. but good to see her there last night. lynn. >> yeah, that was a touching moment. all right, tracie potts for us in washington. tracie, thanks. as president obama entered the capital for his speech, he was overheard congratulating defense secretary leon panetta, apparently for the success of a daring u.s. raid into somalia this morning to free two

hostages, including an american woman. american navy s.e.a.l.s in helicopters flew into a pirate base in somalia. they exchanged gunfire with the kidnappers and rescued american jessica boou canna and co-worker from denmark. the two aid workers were taken hostage in october as they helped clear mines. the rescuers and the hostages are all out safely of somalia. well, today is the first anniversary of the start of the revolution in egypt. protesters are back in ta rear square to express their dissatisfaction with current conditions. after the popular uprising toppled the government of hosni mubarak, demonstrators are still waiting for a civilian democratic government. egypt's military rulers, who are under increasing pressure, say they are partially lifting the long so-called emergency laws and releasing almost 2,000 people who were tried in

military courts. well, here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. surveillance video out of florida shows a 15-year-old boy crashing through the roof of an electronic store during a burglary. he can also be seen carrying a loaded handgun, which he later fired inside the store. police say he snuck out the front door and even came back later with a friend to steal laptop computers. but one of the teens' mothers saw the video on the news and called the police. they are both under arrest. massachusetts senator john kerry is sporting two black eyes after breaking his nose in an ice hockey game, but he found the right place to show off his injuries. at the white house where the president honored the boston bruins. speaking of sports, indianapolis is pulling out all the stops to make sure you know they are hosting super bowl xlvi. giant roman numerals are going

up. you can watch the big game here on this nbc station one week from sunday. for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. good morning to you, bill. >> good morning, lynn. a little wet weather today in the west. not as bad as yeyesterday. we focused the heavy rains a little furthrd to the south into northern california. it's really north of forth bragg. that drive on interstate 5 along the coast will be wet probably throughout a good chunk of the morning. the moisture is just coming in it from the jet stream. the actual storm system moved inland. the jet stream is just focusing all the pacific moisture right into the state of oregon. we're going to see the high elevation snows out of this and we'll see the rain we just showed you. high pressure, clear skies over much of southern california and out off the coast. that's going to mean dry weather continues for the south. as far as the rainfall expected, medford area and southward, that's the focal point. everywhere else, more or less scattered showers. everyone should get less than an

inch. areas like seattle and portland, on and off rain showers. look how warm we are from phoenix to palm springs, san diego to l.a. beautiful weather on this wednesday. thaerature around 64 degrees. more showers in the forecast tomorrow. forecast coming up. >> all right. also coming up, stocks sputter. apple shines. for a pretty penny, how you can hob knob at an english castle. plus, he has lots of admirers, and they're mad as heck this morning he didn't get any oscar nominations. coming up, alex ovechkin sticks it to the nhl and detroit crowns a prince.

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good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here's some of your top headlines this morning. amateur video allegedly shows syrian government troops cracking down on protesters in homes where at least 38 people were reportedly killed tuesday after syria rejected an arab league plan for president assad to step down. american marine staff sergeant will got get any jail time for leading a squad that killed 24 unarmed iraqis. he made a plea deal for a lesser charge in the killings. none of the other marines involved were punished. a police boat overturned in rough seas off the coast of australia. they were helping search for an 8-year-old boy who's been missing since monday. judge wesley brown, the

nation's oldest federal judge, has died at age 104. he was appointed by president kennedy in 1962. judge brown said he was appointed for life or good behavior, whichever he lost first. and the northern lights have been putting on a spectacular show these last few days. the biggest solar storm in more than six years is boosting the aurora borealis and lighting up the skies with a dazing display. here's an early look at one of your top health headlines on msnbc.com. the government reports an unusually mild flu season so far. less than 4% of lab samples through the second week of january came back positive for influenza. that's compared to 26% last year. we may not have hit the peak of flu activity, so health officials recommend that if you have not already been vaccinated, you should get a flu shot. for more information on this and other health stories, you can check out the health page at msnbc.com. >> announcer: early today health

is brought to you by the vagisil screening kit. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,675 after losing 33 points yesterday. the s&p lost a point. the nasdaq was up two. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei climbed 98 points. the hang seng rose 167. after a less than impressive tuesday, stocks could be in for a strong start today. after the bell, apple blew past analysts' estimates. in late trade, apple shares swelled into record territory. earlier tuesday, worried about greece resurfaced as talks to restructure that country's debt stalled once again. that compounded caution raised by a warning from the international monetary fund. a slew of lackluster

earnings reports at home didn't help stocks either. verizon missed estimates by a penny as pricier phones cut into its profit margins. meanwhile, weak earnings from zion's bank made it the biggest drag. mcdonald's reported strong sales. regardless, its shares fell 2%. not surprisingly, yahoo! missed quarterly expectations due to dwindling ad demand. nvidia traded lower after its late day report that disk drive shortages have hampered sales. on the flip side, western digital boosted the s&p after coming in well above earnings estimates. luxury retailer coach rose 6% thanks to strong holiday sales. in deal news, swiss drug giant roche made a hostile offer for illumina. keep an eye on boeing, a norwegian airline announced today it's buying 737s.

finally, fans of the pbs drama can now tour the actual english castle where the popular series is shot for a cool $10,000. people say it's great. coming up, big baseball signings. a big hockey suspension. and the heat beat lebron's old team. plus, trying to save a ball from going out. a high school player makes a miracle shot. there was just one problem. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. we're seeing some of the heaviest rain in the draught-stricken area of texas. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, the american league has signed another hitting star through free agency away from the national league. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at your sports headlines. >> good morning. we'll start with news out of detroit. the tigers open their wallets and sign the biggest free agent left on the market. agreed to a nine-year, $214 million deal with prince fielder. the slugger finished third in the mvp voting last season after hitting 38 homers and 120 rbi. he'll fill the void left by

victor martinez. you may remember fielder's dad cecil played six years with the tigers during the '90s. san francisco giants also got their man. avoid the arbitration with cy young winner tim lincecum. resigned him to a two-year, $40.5 million deal. hockey fans showed their support of alex ovechkin serving a suspension. he stuck it to the league yesterday saying he won't play in the all-star game because he's a suspended player. perot had three against boston. first hat trick of his career. ovechkin couldn't play, but he was there to give matthew a shaving cream pie. caps won it 5-3. nba. lebron facing his former team, the cavs. fans in cleveland now all about that shot. he had 18. no surprise here, lebron disappeared in the fourth. chris bosh carried the heat. miami held on to win it 92-85. finally, an incredible shot

that got one player high fives from the other team. happened during a high school basketball game. the player in white hustled to the loose ball. before it went out of bounds tossed it up behind his back and through the net. that's absolutely incredible. you're not going to see a better three pointer. one problem, it was in the wrong basket. chalk up three for the other team. then again, after a no-look behind the back three pointer, does it really matter which basket it goes in? that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. >> oh, poor kid. all right. coming up, why dem mi moore is in the hospital. and the latest show biz couple that's denying break-up rue r mores. plus, no matter how big they are now, they started small. we'll show you a master in the making. you're watching "early today."

well, welcome back to "early today." a lot of people in the lower 48 have been wondering where the cold air is. it's back in canada and through alaska once again. looks like the cold air has settled in. the high today is minus 5 in fair banks. the west coast is seeing mild air. temperatures in the 40s and 50s. we have the rain in northern california this morning. if you're watching us on kntv in california's bay area, in san jose see the work of mid-20th century artist who pushed the possibilities at invisible

lineage. that's your pacific event of the day. >> thanks so much. and now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. tough times continue for actress demi moore who was hospitalized monday night. she was admitted for what her spokesperson called, quote, exhaustion, citing the stressing in her life right now. however, a source told tmz moore was actually rushed to the hospital for a substance abuse incident. she also bowed out of the upcoming film "love lace." elsewhere, vanessa paradis said her 14-year relationship with johnny depp is not over. a judge will rule next week on halle berry's attempt to keep the father of her children away from them. finally, first it was sexiest man alive. now fans of ryan gosling are up

in arms after being snubbed for an oscar nomination. bloggers buzz that what's being called the year of the gosling, he should have been recognized by the academy. bill agrees. i can tell. he's shaking his head. this comes from wxia in atlanta, georgia, where in nearby peach tree city, one 7-year-old is a full-blown piano prodigy. he recently performed at carnegie hall. he said being on one of the world's best known stages was the first time he wasn't nervous about playing. he's already jumped two grade levels and hopes to be as talented in science as he is in music. good luck to him in that. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

spectacular fireworks welcomed in the chinese new year in hong kong. almost 40,000 rockets were cast into the sky as the year of dragon began. symbols such as numbers, flowers, even smiling faces lit up the sky. the fireworks are believed to scare off evil spirits and entice the god of wealth in the coming year. what's cuter than a panda bear? lots of panda bears. a dozen of them made their debut at the annual panda carnival in china. the cubs are now between 4 and 5 months old.

visitors can submit photos of the cubs for a competition aimed at raising awareness of the per ills facing endangered pandas in the wild. finally, watch out, boys. the ladies are taking over. in china female recruits are being trained as professional bodyguards. during the initiation course, the group goes through vigorous training practicing martial arts, even taking glass bottles to the head. oh, my gosh. the school manager said the demand for female guards comes from wealthy businesswomen who prefer a female. i guess that must happen a lot, taking a glass bottle to the head. so much so that you have to practice it. >> if somebody gets close enough to you to be able to do that, aren't you already not doing your job? >> can't you ninja them before they get there? exactly. you think so. it's time for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day. two days after announcing her resignation from congress, representative gabrielle giffords will present her final piece of legislation, which aims at cracking down on cross border

drug smugglers. the bill would impose new penalties on those using small, low-flying aircraft to bring drugs across the u.s.-mexican border. the u.s. census bureau will release a 2010 census brief on the american indian and alaskan native population. an expert panel will address the current social and economic impact of the latest population data on those groups. and singer alicia keys turns 31. all day long you can stay on top of the latest developments an those stories and others on msnbc.com. 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. vice president joe biden and republican candidate newt gingrich give their reactions to president obama's state of the union address. and actress glenn close discusses her latest movie role. 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. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com