i think that you heard -- and if you read between the lines, he's telling you, do not worry about the government selling stock. i think he's going to buy it all. promise just for you. right here, "mad money," i'm jim cramer. this morning on "early today," high court controversy. protests swirl as the supreme court considers the legality of a landmark health care law. oops, he did it again. president obama explains private comments picked up on an open mike. and unhinged. a runaway vessel gives the term and unhinged. a runaway vessel gives the term "houseboat" a whole new meaning. captions paid for by nbc-universal television well, a very good morning to you. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone. i'm veronica de la cruz.

we begin with the heart of the matter. it was essentially a warm-up, day it two of the supreme court's three-day hearing will dig into the president's health care law, requiring every american to be insured or pay a penalty by next year. steve handelsman has details. >> reporter: the supreme court showdown on the obama mandate. chief justice john roberts. >> it's a command. the mandate is a command. >> reporter: no disagreement about that. the bill the president signed requires almost all americans to buy health insurance by 2014 or pay a fine. 26 states sued. >> coming into federal court to challenge this unprecedented obligation to buy a good or service that consumers don't want. >> reporter: a new survey finds two-thirds of americans want obama health care struck down. >> if we went on the individual mandate, obama care in totality will fall either legally or practically speaking.

>> reporter: rick santorum showed up for blaming mitt romney for pioneering the mandate in massachusetts. >> the imposition of government rule over people's lives. >> reporter: obama's supporters rallied, saying his plan imposes fairness. >> we are rich and prosperous nation. it is only morally right that a minimum level of health care should be a right and not a function of income or which job you have. >> reporter: all eyes will be on justice anthony kennedy, he could be the swing vote. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. as the parents of trayvon martin and supporters around the nation continue to call justice for the killing of the unarmed team, supporters of the man who shot him offer new details on how the incident allegedly unfolded. nbc's jay gray has more. >> reporter: a month after he was shot and killed, trayvon martin's parents address city commissioners. >> we're not asking for an eye

for an eye. we're asking for justice. an arrest needs to be made of george michael zimmerman. >> reporter: the community watch volunteer has been in hiding but now friends are coming to george zimmerman's defense, sharing details they say police have not. they say martin initiated the confrontation, attacking j inii zimmerman, breaking his nose and slamming his head against the sidewalk. >> from what i know, the bottom line is there was a life-and-death struggle in that instance, and someone was going to die. >> reporter: adding to the confusion and emotions surrounding this case, confirmation that martin was in sanford with his father after being suspended from school when a baggy with marijuana residue was found in his backpack. >> they killed my son and now they're trying to kill his reputation. >> reporter: what will not die is the outrage over the shooting. martin's parents will travel to washington with later today for a congressional forum and then a protest continuing what they call their search for justice for their son.

in sanford, florida, jay gray, nbc news. president obama wraps up his visit to south korea and heads home today after trying to clear up a controversy that started with an open microphone. at the nuclear security summit in south korea, president obama's conversation with russia's president was picked up on an open mike. the president said he would have more room to negotiate over plans for a missile defense shield in europe after the 2012 election. today after joking about the microphones being on, the president explained that, since arms control is such a complex issue, he didn't think anyone should be surprised that you can't start something so complex a few months before presidential and congressional elections in the u.s. republican presidential candidate mitt romney had called the president's comments, quote, an alarming and troubling development. in doing so, romney called the russians our number one enemy, a position he later clarified. now here is a look at some other stories making news early today in america. in new mexico, incredible video

has just been made public after someone stole a school bus earlier this month. there were no kids on board, but plenty of danger as state police chased the driver for more than 150 miles. a police car camera shows the bus swerving back and forth as officers tried to ram the back end. they were finally able to do so, bringing the chase to an end and arresting the driver. in detroit, frightening moments for a man who was stabbed while on his cell phone. surveillance video from a gas station shows a woman slashing the back of the man's neck, then continuing to follow the victim while he tried to get help. the man survived despite an eight-inch wound. the woman is still on the loose. finally, forget about rough waters, a boat slammed right into a house in florida. a neighbor says it was being towed by a truck when it broke loose and headed straight it for the house.

fortunately, the family who was living there was not home at the time. it is time now for a look at your national and regional weather. here is nbc meteorologist bill karins. not something we should laugh about. >> but it's so different and strange. >> it's random. >> like a picture you would see after a had hurricane, a boat sitting in someone's front yard. >> except there was no hurricane. >> bad, bad luck. good morning, everyone. if you want to talk about bad luck, coastline of oregon and even interior sections of northern california not going to be the prettiest of ends to march. usually march comes in line of like a lion out like a lamb, not the case on the west coast. jet stream is focusing moisture in one storm after another over the next five days right into northern california to oregon. and the next five days, it could be five to ten inches of rainfall total. maybe talking about flooding issues in the days ahead, especially since we had heavy snow. if we get melting on top of that, we'll see rivers filling up in a hurry. right now we have kind of an occluded front right along the coast, keeping the showers, damp weather all the way from

washington state southward, and the jet stream will focus this moisture right into northern california today. that's where the heaviest rain is now found. you can see it here just showery weather from san francisco trying to work its way toward sacramento. but up the coast near eureka, redding, northward, 4,000 feet or above could pick up a foot of snow, that rain continues through your morning drive. further to the north, i mentioned the occluded front off the coast, it's continuing to focus the moisture over the i-5 corridor. it breaks up a little bit getting to the 70. i mentioned the heavy rain potential from san francisco northward. that's where we could pick up a couple of inches. then the next storm in oregon even worse. there's your forecast. it's a wet. also up to los angeles, all the wet weather will stay to the

north of you. not fun. not a nice forecast. hasn't been a nice march so far in much of the northwest. >> it's almost april. i wanted to ask you, how unusual is the snow? i heard you say snow it at least three times. >> late but not unheard of at those elevations. >> lake tahoe, exactly. thanks, bill. ben bend on jobs, chinese profits tumble. nimble fingers and big business go together. your business head liechbs are straight ahead. was it pateback for his nasty moments on stage? simon cowell faces a crazed intruder. come willing ing up, knicks of their starts, tebow takes new york and when is a tie really a loss? you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." here are some of your top medical leans today. american support for the war in

afghanistan has dropped shortly. 69% of americans say the u.s. should no longer be fighting in afghanistan. that is up 16 points since november. a wind-driven wildfire has killed one person, destroyed an unknown number of homes and forced mandatory evacuation of 900 houses in the foothills and canyons west of denver. the blaze which also forced the closing of some roads in the area is believed to have been ignited by embers left over from a preventible controlled burn last week. dominique strauss-kahn has been given preliminary charges alleging he was involved in a french prostitution ring. the former head of the international monetary fund denies the charges. a year after japan's earth kwaing and tsunami, a 150-foot-long fishing boat has drifted across the pacific ocean and is about 100 miles off the coast of canada. the ghost ship is the first piece of tsunami debris to reach north america. now is an early look at wall

street. the dow opens 13,241 after climbing 160 points yesterday. the s&p jumped 19, the nasdaq spiked 54. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, tokyo, the nikkei surged 236 points, while in hong kong the hang sang leaped 378. looking ahead this morning, we'll get home price data and a roort on consumer confidence. stocks not only recovered last week's confidence and more in monday's bounceback, they're on track for the best quarter in stocks for 14 years. some credit went to ben bar nen ke who said yesterday the improving job market is a welcome development and said the fed's policy should help reduce long-term unemployment. germany's chancellor merkel says she's prepared to let the temporary euro zone bailout run at the time of the bailout fund. chi china's industrial company suffered a drop in profits of more than 5% in the first two months much the year.

apple chief executive tim cook is in china to meet officials in beijing as apple is ready to expand its market there for the ipad and iphone. boeing has delivered two dream liners to japan airlines after a three-year delay. able oil platform in the north sea was evacuated yesterday after a gas leak was discovered as the rig was being shut down. and aig says when it repays about $45 billion it still owes for its bailout, taxpayers will make a $10 billion profit. pending home steals unexpectedly fell 5% in february as the housing market continues to struggle to recover. and many large corporations are now using video game technology to train managers and executives. so between games and mart phones, the next generation of business leaders may have some very fast finger reflexes. just an excuse to play video games. the nuggetss rocked the bulls, a piston gets sticky and el salvador shoots dounl u.s.

hopes for olympic glory. miami handed their second straight double-digit loss. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and the cruel winter morning in new england won't last long. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

very good morning to you.

if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, missing two key players, the new york knicks managed a big win last night, increigh creasing their lead for the final berth in the eastern conference. here's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. just when it appeared the knicks were tuning around their season, they suffered a huge loss. amar'e stoudemire out indefinitely with a bulging disk in his back. jeremy lin out with a sore knee. carammelo anthony stepped up. knicks are banged up but managed to beat milwaukee. the bulls also short-handed. derrick rose sat out his seventh game in a row. one the best defensive leagues in the team, denver won 108-91. the heat lost their second game in as many days. time winding down in the fist half, paul george threw up a prayer and it was achbsed. the pacers win 105-90.

pistons and wizards, know why the seats in the front row are so expensive? because they come with a free gatorade bath. brandon knight doused everyone and everybody in sight. the wizards are all washed up, the game-winner was drained with less than a second to win. 79-77 the final. nfl, it's not too often a backup quarterback has a nationally televised quarterback. but then again, not every quarterback is tim tebow. he was introduced as a member of the jets and in true tebow fashi fashi fashion, he said everything right. >> i'm so humbled and excited they wanted me. i've had the pleasure of meeting some of the teammates. i'm looking forward to my future as a jet. i'm very excited about it. when is a tie actually a loss in soccer? when it comes to olympic qualifying. el salvador scored the goal in the men's under 23 team. the tie eliminates them from

olympic competition. instead of heading to lond been, they'll be watching the game from home. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. a north carolina couple lives a treasure hunt hadder's dream come true. plus, who would you cast to play this former first lady? the actress chosen has a vastly different political view than her husbands. you're watching "early today."

manufacture. >> with welcome back to "early today." a wet dreary and relatively cool spring continues. we're going to see one storm after another. one is moving onshore now. we're seeing a lot of heavy rain northern california, snow levels pretty low around mt. shasta. we continue with the rainfall in the northwest not just today but tomorrow probably thursday, maybe even friday, too. well, if you're watching us on king 5 news in seattle, washington, in nearby bellingham, explore the rich and innovative ceramic culture of japan. soaring voices at the western gallery, your pacific eext of the day. >> so it's going to rain. good day for a trip to the gallery. >> how many days in a row can you go to the museum? >> or you can stay in bed. >> yes. here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment news. good news out there for you ladies who are fans of liam hemz worth of "the hunger games" because technically you have still got a shot.

speculation raged hemzworth proposed to girl friend miley cyrus after she was spotted wearing a rock on her ring finger. cyrus shot down the rumors tweeting, i'm not engaged. i've worn the same ring on this finger since november. what is she dog, bill? giving him a hint? okay, i've moved the ring to this finger. >> he's a pretty hot commodity now, maybe she should. >> she has been herself, though, you know. elsewhere early monday morning, bobby brown was arrested in california for suspicious of dui after he failed a field sobriety test. a 29-year-old woman was charged with aggravated burglary after breaking into simon cowell's home and shouting and holding a brick. finally, some casting news. "variety" reporting that jane fonda will play first lady nancy reagan in an upcoming film about a longtime white house butler.

liam neeson is considering playing president lyndon johnson. and john cusack the role of richard nixon. this comes to us from channel 36 in charlotte, north carolina, where in nearby hidden night one couple made a discovery that might make their friends green with envy. they unearthed a 50-karat emerald, a little bigger than a nickel but could earn them a lot if they decide to cash in. it is estimated at $10,000. tiny! the pair part of a local gem and mineral group had been at the mine for five minutes when they came across the precious stone. huh, good for them. i'm veronica dela includes. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

in colombia, theatrics have escaped the playhouse and made the city their stage. entertainers took over the streets, parks and auditoriums in boeigota as the theater kick off. from the classics to the avant-garde, more than 2 million spectators are treated to perform anszs of all kinds by artists from nearly 60 countries. well, the infamous french climber known as spider-man has been at it again, only this time he played by the rules. after being caught by police and deported, he was invited back to climb one of jakarta's tallest buildings as long as he used suction cups and a safety

harness. he climbed the 50-story building in, get this, 2 1/2 hours. firefighters in the philippines had a great time preparing for the worst. over 300 of the world's bravest participated in this year's firemen olympics, competing in fire-related events that showed off their speed, accuracy, and endurance. the event was organized to promote fire prevention awareness in manila where there are three to five fires a day. you know, bill, that just doesn't seem like a lot to me. i feel like i hear a siren going off every five minutes in new york city, you know? >> no. there are a lot of sirens here, but that guy was flying up that rope. ever try climbing a rope like that? remember gym class? >> i have no upper arm strength. >> not easy. >> not a good thing. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout today here on nbc. the in washington, the ntsb holds a forum on distraction drivers face behind the wheel

and how different states have implemented distracted drivers rules. a tomorrow coach of tiger woods releases his much-anticipated book, a tell-all that looks into hank haney's six years as being his swing coach. and finally director quinton tarantino turns 49 years old today. happy birthday. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news" and finally here is a look at what's coming up later on the "today" show. in a "today" exclusive, christie brinkley opens up in a live interview about her bitter divorce battle and her return to broadway. lionel richie will add a country twist to some of his greatest hits as he performs live in studio mitts from his

new album tuskegee. keep it here for more on news, weather and sports. i'm veronica