see you tomorrow. this morning on "early today," moving forward, a new development in the shooting death of florida teen trayvon martin. hailed as heroes, two seventh graders leap into action after a school bus driver loses consciousness. >> and planetary pachyderms. nasa spots a unique yet familiar >> and planetary pachyderms. nasa spots a unique yet familiar image on the surface of mars. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with a strategic

move. a special prosecutor investigating the killing of unarmed florida teen trayvon martin has decided not to use a grand jury to decide whether his confessed killer, george zimmerman will face criminal charges. that decision will now be in her hands alone. nbc's jay gray has more. >> reporter: a handful of protesters, most of them students, marched to the sanford police department, blocking the front doors and for a short time actually closing the office down. as the protest over the trayvon martin shooting continues, special prosecutor angela corey announced she alone would determine if charges would be filed in the controversial case. she spoke briefly by phone with the protesters. >> she didn't give us much details but sort of seemed to hint that something would be coming very shortly so we're very excited by that. >> reporter: in a brief written

statement, corey said she would not present evidence to a grand jury but the investigation would continue and that there will be no further comment from this office. martin family attorney benjamin crump released this statement after the decision. "we're not surprised by this announcement and in fact are hopeful that a decision will be reached very soon to arrest george zimmerman and give trayvon martin's family the simple justice they have been seeking all along." on a day when george zimmerman went online with his new official website and a message to supporters, his legal team said corey's announcement could signal an important turning point. >> it's an indication i think that she's probably close to the end of her investigation. and i think it's an indication she's going to make the decision based on the law and evidence. that's what it really tells us. >> reporter: as so many follow this high-profile case wait to hear for much more. jay gray, nbc news, sanford, florida. >> the two men arrested in a shooting death of three black

men in tulsa, oklahoma, have confessed, according to court documents. 19-year-old jake england and 32-year-old alvin watts were arraigned by teleconference from the county jail yesterday. england confessed to shooting three people friday. and watts confessed to shooting two. but the affidavit does not make clear which man shot which victim. they say first degree murder charges and are each being held on $9 million bond. police say they believe there's a link between the shooting and killing of england's father by a black man. but the suspects have yet to discuss their motive with politician. the u.s. is urging north korea not to launch a satellite or conduct a nuclear test calling them both "provocative actions." north korea says the launch preparations are now complete today. nbc chief foreign correspondent richard engel has more inside north korea. >> reporter: this rocket is poised for launch, north korea says, to carry a satellite into orbit. but u.s. officials worry it could easily be converted into a

intercontinental ballistic missile that could reach the united states. the standoff comes just as this secretive isolated country allowed outsiders, journalists in for a closer look. in pyongyang we saw up to 100,000 people express devotion to kim jong-il as the giant mural of the departed leader was unveiled. the control of this society was immediately apparent. people stood in rows at attention, applauded on cue and waved pom-poms in a shimmering sea of pink, north korea's vision of a patriotic utopia. this is the first time journalists have been allowed into north korea since kim jong-un came to power and all this political et theater some provocative.

in other news, in washington state students are being called heroes for their thick questioning after their school bus driver suffered a medical condition during the morning commute. a seventh grader grabs the wheel, steers the bus to the shoulder, turning off the ignition and even did chest compressions on the driver while they were still moving. unreal. another student also jumped in to help while other kids called 911. the driver is now recovering. arose the northeast high winds and low humidity led to several wildfires. in connecticut flames burned alongside railroad tracks causing the suspension of some amtrak and commuter service. in new york city a fire on staten island could be seen from midtown manhattan making for smoky, unhealthy air. in long island two homes and a commercial building were reportedly burned. on a much lighter note in

new york city, it's become the new hangout for a goat of all things. her owner says cocoa is much happier spending time in the big apple than on farm. who could blame her? like any real commuter she even hopped on the subway for a ride there. and finally in oklahoma it was a hailstorm that sounded more like a shooting spree. looked like it, too. grapefruit-size hail smashed into one neighborhood. at least two tornadoes were also reported. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. >> for once it's not the west colitea dng with all those crazy fires. for the west we've had our pesky storm sizzlingering off the coast still spinning like a top spinning moisture foo southern california and the rain up around san francisco later today will move to southern california and especially tonight down towards los angeles.

there will be two storms this week, the one you're looking at here coming onshore during the day today and another one on the edge of the map that will come onshore thursday night into friday. both will bring a chance of rain and gusty winds. this first one doesn't look impressive, areas near san francisco, it will bring about a third of an inch, maybe at most a half an inch through much of california including the valley areas. notice we don't have any 2 or 3-inch totals but a light rain event. l.a., not until late today, tonight that you'll see your chance of damp eathis evening. that will include l.a. not a big dangerous storm, just

a little bit of light rain. california needs the rain also. coming up, facebook buys a potential rival. a new way to discourage phone theft. and prove "the hunger games" hit a big time. an alleged stalker is no laughing matter for alec baldwin. a rocky day. mets remain perfect. you're watching "early today."

good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. syrian government forces fired across the borders of both turkey and lebanon killing several people. 125 people have been killed over

the past 2 days as hope fades for a cease-fire that was scheduled to begin today. books of "the hunger games" trilogy have been placed on the most challenged list of the american library association. some parents and educators are questioning whether the books should be on library shelves because of the violence, language and sex. england's prince harry rode through snowy roads in transylvania on a motorbike as he visited romania. prince charles owns a mansion in a nearby 16th century village. released images from mars that shows a dried lava flow that looks a lot like the forehead, trunk and eye of an elephant. it does. the photo was taken by a camera in orbit around the red planet. here's a look at how wall street is going to kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,929. after tumbling 130 points yesterday. the s&p fell 15 points. the nasdaq lost 33. taking a look at overseas

trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei was down 8 points while in hong kong the hang seng dipped 236. not surprisingly, stocks tumbled on investors' first day back since the long holiday weekend. this, of course, in reaction to friday's disappointing jobs report. all ten industry groups on the s&p suffered with financials hit the hardest. the broad sell-off also dragged the dow to its first sub-13,000 finish in a month. facebook's purchase of instagram for $1 billion grabbed a lot of attention as the social network readies its upcoming ipo. instagram was becoming a highly sought after social rival. elsewhere in billion dollar deals shares of aol shot up 34% after the company agreed to sell hundreds of patents to microsoft for more than $1 billion. at&t announced it's selling its majority stake in its yellow

pages business to a capital management company for $950 million. avon slid 3% after appointing a former johnson & johnson exec as ceo. overseas this morning, china posted a surprise trade surplus of $5.3 billion to reverse february's $31 billion deficit. here in the u.s. phone carriers are teaming up with the government to crack down on cell phone thefts. major carriers and the fcc agreed to create a database of unique i.d. numbers that would allow customers to disable their phone if stolen. "the hunger games" franchise has hit another popularity milestone, a collector's barbie named for the heroine ckatniss everdeen. cat dolls are already back ordered until august 1st. coming up, the jazz snap the spurs" win streak.

the reds rally past the blue jays and the yanks clip the orioles. plus, new york's other baseball team, the mets stay perfect celebrating a walkoff win in the ninth. your early morning sport headlines are straight ahead. >> looks like our spring trend is going to continue. cool and wet weather on the west coast. your weather is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports last night, the texas rangers came out swinging after a rough start by their big free agent signing. here's nbc's mario solis with a look at all your sports headlines. >> hi, there, good morning. darvish made his much anticipated debut. it didn't go as planned. kyle seger hits a pair with a single to center. before the fans settle in their seats, mariners are up 4-0. rangers have nine innings to make up the difference, and that's exactly what they do. nelson cruz, mitch moreland josh hamilton and ian kinsler all hit homers. darvish picks up his first win in the bigs, 11-5. one of the reasons texas got darvish was to fill the void left by c.j.

c.j. struck five over seven innings. angels won. baltimore took four games, but yankees finally got their first win. believe it or not, derek jeter has the most hits in the 20-year history of camden yards. kept it going last night, a perfect 4-4. yankees won, 6-2. blue jays rallied in the ninth. mcdonald hustling from second. the throw was there. gets away from the catcher. boston takes the lead and wins 4-2. how about a walkoff. mets and nats tied in the ninth. daniel murphy singles him home. mets win, 5-4. no better way to celebrate than a shaving cream pie to the face. break up the mets. they are 4-0. nba lamar odom will have plenty of time to work on his reality show. the mavericks placed him on the inactive list ending a short stint in dallas. the spurs going for their 12th consecutive win.

if you think it mattered to them, they're wrong. jazz took advantage and won 91-84. the playoffs can't start soon enough for the aging spurs and that's a look at your sports on "early today," i'm mario solis. early today sports brought to you by just for men. keep your edge. broadway has a new king. your "early today" headlines are straight ahead. the first family yesterday took time out at the white house for one last celebration of easter. you're watching "early today."

well, welcome back. a storm systems moving onshore. we have some rain moving toward san francisco. eventually it will move onshore. not a big rain event. some areas only get a tenth to a quarter of an inch, at most a half inch. tomorrow your best chance of rainfall for los angeles. wednesday, we're still going to see lingering showers through the region. well, if you're watching us on knbc in los angeles, in nearby beautiful pasadena, let your imagination run wild through paintings of new world, fantastic scenarios at the armory center. an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. the latest celebrity dealing with a stalker. a canadian woman appeared at

alec baldwin's home on sunday. she was arrested on five counts of harassment and stalking. last week she e-mailed baldwin a dozen times, and friday night she showed up at a movie screening he hosted. well, amanda bynes' father said she didn't have a single drink friday night in los angeles when police charge she was under the influence when she crashed into the back of a stopped police car. he claims the officer involved caused the accident, pulling out in front of bynes as she turned into the intersection. "the lion king" has topped "the phantom of the opera" as broadway's highest grossing musical with $154 million. whitney houston's funeral cost the sicker's hometown, newark, new jersey, $187,000 in police overtime. and finally tammy lynette ridge filed a brief arguing that $23,000 a month that her ex, melissa etheridge pays her for child and spousal support is not

enough. easter came late but president obama presided over the 134th annual easter egg roll on the south lawn, and that was just part of the fun. first lady michelle and daughters sasha and malia joined in reading "where the wild things are" to kids. the harlem globetrotters joined in and thousands joined in on the festivities. a little pressure for the president. harlem globe trotters chose some serious moves. >> reading "where the wild things are." >> a favorite of your kids too. >> a favorite of mine in there you go. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today." just your first stop for the day today on your nbc station.

what better place to participate in the world's coolest race than the north pole. 40 contestants braved icy terrain for the 26.2-mile run. the course was icy, but they did bundle up in plenty of layers. that came in handy as temperatures dropped as low as negative 14 degrees fahrenheit. and for onlookers, there were indoor refreshments provided. so you could get a little escape from the cold. one zoo in japan has some alluring animal attractions for the spring season. a pair of newborns joined the zoo's family of kappa barras, the world's largest rodents. four days ago the babies have quickly risen to stardom. attracting an influx of visitors to the zoo.

they also have a very gifted elephant, as you can see. he's painting a landscape of a fully blossomed cherry blossom tree. pretty impressive. well, lots of people love bacon but do they love it to death? >> maybe. >> if they do, they're in luck. there you can. you can have a bacon themed coffin introduced into the afterlife market. it's decorated in bacon and pork shaped stripes. the final product is a coffin which looks like a freshly cooked strip of the good stuff. the extreme ode to bacon can be yours for just under $3,000. i don't know. i think it looks more like a flame on the side of a car type thing but if they want to go bacon -- >> what does bacon really look like. >> true. pasted a couple strips of them. >> the smell. time for a look at early stories we'll follow throughout the day. the national transportation safety board will give an

investigative update on last year's crash. at reno nevada that killed a pilot and ten speck spatatorspe. the board will release recommendations for improving safety at future air races. on this day 100 years ago, the "rms titanic" set sail from england to new york city. it sank five days later after colliding with an iceberg, one of history's deadliest peacetime maritime disasters. and former nfl coach and sportscaster john madden turns 76. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments on those stories and others as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." finally here's a look at what's coming up later on the "today" show. more on "30 rock" show alec baldwin's stalker. who is she? and singer carole king will be share stories from her new memoir "a natural woman." keep it on this channel for news, weather sports and more.

i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching today. just your first stop of the day today, on your nbc stations. have a good one.