the hedge funds have to have their pound of flesh before they start rallying again. but they will. i really like the oils tomorrow to buy. like to say it's always a bull market somewhere. promise to try to find it for you. right here "mad money." i'm jim crameri'an, eelld s you morrow., this morning on "early today," seeking justice. thousands rally in florida outraged over the shooting death of unarmed teen trayvon martin. cause of death, after weeks of speculation we now know what killed singer whitney houston. and paper chase. engineers in arizona turn a school boy hobby into a engineers in arizona turn a school boy hobby into a larger-than-life endeavor. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello. welcome to our viewers croacros

the nation. i'm veronica de la cruz. thousands gathered to demand the arrest of a neighborhood captain who shot an unarmed teen trayvon martin. the chief of police has temporarily step add side. nbc's jay gray has details. >> reporter: the cries for justice. grew a bit louder in florida. >> i stand before you not knowing how i'm walking right now because eye heart hurts for my son. >> reporter: a growing pain and anger pushing thousands to this rally for a young man who couldn't be there. >> trayvon is my son. trayvon is your son. >> reporter: 17-year-old trayvon marten carrying only a bag of candy and iced tea was killed by george zimmerman. >> zimmerman should have been

arrested that night. >> reporter: it's been almost a month and still no arrest despite growing questions about his claims of self-defense adding to the pain of martin's grieving parents. >> i pledge i will not let my son die in vain. >> reporter: they assigned a new state attorney and called for a task force to investigate and with the tensions growing, sanford police chief bill lee announced he would temporarily step aside. >> i do this in the hopes of restoring some semblance of calm. >> reporter: for those gathered here, though, it was not enough. >> the chief said he did a temporary leave. no, we want permanent justice. >> reporter: as the department of justice and the fbi continue ongoing investigations, while the patience of this community continues to wear thin. jay gray, nbc news, sanford, florida. >> nbc news learned robert bales is scheduled to be charged for the killing of afghan civilians

charged with 17 counts of murder. a report from a shefsh's department in washington state shows he was accused of groping a woman and beating her boyfriend. no charges were filed against him. the speculation is over about what killed whitney houston in february. the official autopsy report details the results of lab tests which explain how she died. nbc's stefanie sand report. >> reporter: she accidentally drowned in a bathtub with cocaine and heart disease in her death. they relasted them thursday ending weeks of speculation as to what killed the 48-year-old singer. >> we know when she slipped under the water she was still alive. we have evidence of drowning. so there was water in the lungs, so that substance yachts that finding. >> reporter: her body was found submerged in a bathtub by one of

her staff members at the beverly hilton hotel, one day before the grammys. >> they found her unresponsive. they attempted life-saving resuscitation measures. unfortunately, they were not successful. >> reporter: the coroner's report found no evidence of foul play but did indicate results with chronic cocaine use and shows marijuana, xanax, flexeril and benadryl in her system but they did not contribute to her death. houston had planned to attend clive davis' pregrammy party and it shocked and saddened the world. she leaves behind her daughter and a musical legacy that will be remembered forever. stephanie stanton, nbc news los angeles. in texas, police raided what were two active moonshine still making bootleg booze that goes for $100 a pint. neighbors are also accused of

helping cook the 190 proof alcohol. police say the stills could have easily caused an explosion. elsewhere in texas, a neighborhood is under siege from a pack of wild chihuahuas. it's believed a man who was a hoarder had kept the dogs until he vanished last week. animal control workers have been trying to keep up. neighbors say the dogs are killing cats in the area. in california, happy hour is hitting the road i guess you could say. this is called a bar cycle. it's a human powered rolling watering hole. the company behind it hopes to rent it out for parties but before you crack open a cold one while pedaling, be warned, in most cases there is no drinking allowed on public streets, only on private property. finally, don't panic. it is only a replica a giant snake. but it is a life-size copy of a massive prehistoric reptile

known the tidanaboa. it's on display in new york and will soon slither its way down to washington, d.c. now, for a look at your national regional weather here's bill karins. did you see the size of that? >> let's be glad snakes over the millions of years have gotten smaller. >> exactly. >> some big ones in the everglades but not that big. good morning, everyone. i got a rainy forecast for california coming up this weekend trying to pinpoint that. another chilly morning. so much of the country is talking about one of the warmest marches on record and dealing with a cool march by the time we add up the temperatures by the end of the month. 35 in seattle. 32 medford. we had the snow we talked about in oregon. we had a break yesterday and today is going to be just fine. we're concerned with the next storm system in areas of california. this isn't going to be a

life-threatening storm but could ruin some plans because of the rainy weather and the storm is located just off the coastline. another little piece of that will come onshore as we go throughout the next 24 hours. the green on the map shows you where the rain is going to be. clock behind me so as we go through today, we're dry. saturday the rain will move onshore northern california and tra jekt ray looks to be right through san francisco saturday. looks to be cool and wet in san francisco and then by sunday morning it shifts a little bit further to the south. i think during the afternoon hours los angeles you're going to have to deal with showers. that's a look at your friday once again the cool weather stays on the west coast. that's not going to change this weekend. >> kind of bizarre.

it is so busy when we are warmer on the east coast but i'll take it. overseas, more good job news and a toy stock is boosted. early morning news is up next. have you heard about "the hunger games." a number one seed will not be joining them. you're watching "early today."

good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm veronica de la cruz. here are some of your top headlines this morning. a call girl is claiming former senator john edwards was a client. edwards' lawyers say he denies the allegation.

bashar al assad's wife may be cut off from shopping after she spent lavishly for clothing and furniture as an attempt to increase pressure on his government to stop the crackdown on opposition protesters. the state of mississippi executed william jerry mitchell by lethal injection for the brutal murder of a convenience store clerk in 1995. the third execution in mississippi, the 11th in the nation. calling it an invasion of privacy, richard blumenthal is writing a bill stopping employers from asking for passwords. a flight in arizona as the 800-pound, 45-foot-long-craft was carried to over 2700 feet in the air by a helicopter. it was released and flew on its own for about six seconds at a speed of 98 miles per hour.

wow. and now here's a look at wall street. the dow opens at 13,046 after losing 78 points yesterday. the s&p fell ten, the nasdaq lost 12. the nikkei dropped 115 points while in hong kong the hang seng sank 232. a toll on markets here at home yesterday but there may be a silver lining. at least some temporary relief at the pump could be on the way after worries about dwindling oil demand draggeded the price of crude down 2%. fears of a global slowdown weighed down energy and raw material suppliers the most. those worries also overshadowed news of unemployment applications fell by 5,000 to a four-year low last week. fedex also took a hit after its financial chief warned of slowing demand abroad. shares slipped 4%. diamond foods lost 7% after

suspending dividend payments to stockholders. on the up side, discover cards rose 3% after reporting increased spending by its user. dollar general picked up 3% thanks to better than expected earnings. elsewhere t-mobile is laying off 5% of its workforce and closing call centers. in the wake of an industrywide foreclosure scandal bank of america began a pilot program offering some underwater mortgage customers the option of renting their homes from the bank to avoid foreclosure. on capitol hill, the senate gave final approval to a scaled down bill banning members of congress and thousands of other federal workers from insider trading. president obama has vowed to sign it. finally, after one of mitt romney's top aides compared his campaign strategy to an etch a sketch the toymaker shares nearly tripled thursday. as a thank you, the company sent etch a sketchs to all of the

presidential campaigns. syracuse survives a scare. ohio state advances and the underdog gators prevail. plus, michigan state is the first number one seed to be slammed out of the ncaa tournament. your early morning sports headlines are ahead. weekend forecast is all about the warm weather. that's coming up. you're watching "early today."

very good morning to you. just waking up, this is "early today." in sports four college basketball teams have moved on to the so-called elite eight as march madness matches on. here's nbc's fred roggin with another look at all your sports headlines. good morning. grab a pen and check your brackets because the number one seed in the tournament is done. happened in the west, louisville gave michigan state fits. the spartans couldn't get anything going. jang swatted everything that came his way. the kid from senegal finished with seven blocks. louisville smothered the best shooting team. defense led to offense on the other end. rick pitino never lost a sweet 16 game and wasn't about to. up six at the half. wisconsin rallied with a barrage of threes. hit 14 from beyond the arc.

but when they needed it most they came up short. down one, the badgers couldn't get anything to fall in the final seconds. and syracuse escaped 64-63. up next they'll play ohio state in the elite eight. they win a seesaw battle against cincinnati. the buckeyes up 12 at the half when the beark59s came roaring back and took the lead. the duo of sulinger and deshawn thompson simply too much combined for 49 points and ohio state moves on. florida and marquette. a lot had marquette winning and a lot of people were wrong. beale scored 21. florida advanced to their fourth elite eight in the last six years with a 68-58 win. finally the biggest comeback not in the ncaa tournament but in the nba, pacers down 22 against the wizards when they started chipping away at the lead. paul george knocked down the three in the final minute and indy was on top for the first time in the game, last chance for the wiz, john wall the floater but didn't get it up in time and pacers stunned the

wizards, 85-83. that's your early look at sports on "early today." have a terrific weekend. i'm fred roggin. "early today" sports brought to you for just for men autostop. gray is over. sure to break records and why, your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, these guys are norm normally a favorite shark snap but coming up we'll trel you the happy story of the one who got away. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." time for your weekend forecast. first things first, pretty dry everywhere. warm from vegas to phoenix. about time. still cool in the northwest especially this morning and in california, you should see a good deal of sunshine today. that changes saturday, though, as a storm system will bring wet weather from portland down to the oregon coastal areas to california then by sunday that focus of the rain will shift towards the south. santa maria down into l.a. eventually in the afternoon with a good chance of rain. watching us on ksnd, enjoy enchanting realms through paintings and sculptures at a fantastic voyage. at the mingei international museum. >> 79 degrees for vegas today. thank you for some lovely weather. >> about time there too. warm it up. now here's ann early look at this morning's entertainment

news. the meet and greet for profit made hollywood shy away from original screenplays in favor of best-sellers. this weekend we get one of hollywood's biggest book adaptations of all time. "the hunger games" from suzanne collins' young adult novel shows liam hemsworth as well as elizabeth bank, woody harrelson, stanley tucci and lenny kravitz. in an unrecognizable north america, contestants are forced to take part in a televised kill or be killed spectacle. hugely popular in book form, the reason it will set records is because like "the twilight" shears, it will draw both young males and females. have an historic opening with as much as $150 million and people are lining up to see this one. they did last night. >> i guess everyone that's read the book series feels like they have to see the movie. >> which is why you're going to

see the movie. >> i'll see the movie then maybe read the book later, probably not. i can't lie. i'll just watch the movie. >> let me know how it is. this come to us from wja wjar-nbc news where a seal made its return to the sea. they sent the harp seal back into the water after he was rescued from wounds from a possible shark attack. valentine got love in the form of medical care and now more than a month later he is fully recovered and he is swimming in the ocean once again. look at him go. excellent. i'm veronica de la cruz. this is "early today." just your first stop of the day on your nbc stations.

nowhere does spring offic l officially arrive more than with cherry blossoms. they appeared a day earlier than expected in japan after an exceptionally cold winter. for thousands of years cherry blossoms have been an important element of japanese culture with their brief but rich appearance symbolizing the passage of both life and time. britain is not only hosting the olympics, they're also sporting fashionable new uniforms conceived by english's stella mccartney, the daughter of sir paul mccartney and features a jack flag in shades of blue, red trim in socks and 38 styles of shoes. the team of 900 will also

receive a formal suit as well as casual attire. in sweden european royals held court yesterday but probably not the kind that you are imagining. england's prince charles was visiting and was met at a youth center by the country's prime minister and queen sylvia. the prince of wales tried his hand at a little basketball, but as game as he was, he showed why he's much better on the grass playing polo than on the hardwood shooting hoops. not too bad. >> are you a righty or lefty? >> what? excuse me? >> you shoot baskets. >> with both hands. i don't really play basketball. >> i guess not. all right. time now for an early look at some stories following throughout the day. the congressional medal of honor found face hosts its citizen service recognizing three recipients and presenting a boy scout with the american spirit award for his heroism. more than 20 medal recipients from across the country will attend. the major legal gaming winter championships will kick off in ohio.

over 1,000 pc gamers will compete for $200,000 in prize money. and on this day in 1775 patrick henry gave his famous address to the virginia provincial convention in which he declare the "give me liberty or give me death." all day long catch up on the latest developments as they break on msnbc. tonight watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." what's coming up later on the "today" show. the latest on the investigation of whitney houston and sierra lamar speaks out in a live interview. keep it here for much more. i'm veronica de la cruz. thank you so much for watching "early today." just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a terrific weekend. we'll see you back here on have a terrific weekend. we'll see you back here on monday. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com