clean energy and west port, not knocking them. just understand they're really speculative situations. always a bull market somewhere. i'm jim cramer. see you tomorrow. today", under arrest. neighborhood watch volunteer george zimmerman is charged in the fatal shooting of unarmed florida teen trayvon martin. seeing red. a republican congressman claims scores of house democrats are communists. and miracle baby. an argentina couple fine their newborn alive in a morgue 12 hours after she was declared dead. hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across

the nation including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with murder charges. after weeks of growing controversy neighborhood watch volunteer george zimmerman is behind bars in florida this morning. he's facing a hearing later today on second-degree murder charges. the shooting death of unarmed black teenager trayvon martin. we are live in sanford, florida for the very latest. jeff, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, lynn. just after the special prosecutor in this case made the announcement of the charges, there was an appeal by the mayor of sanford, florida for calm but there's a strong sense of relief now that george zimmerman is under arrest and charged with second-degree murder. after more than a month of speculation about where he might be, this morning we know that george zimmerman is here, behind bars in the seminole county jail, 44 days after the neighborhood watch volunteer shot and killed 17-year-old

trayvon martin. special prosecutor angela corey has ended her investigation and is now preparing for a trial. >> today we filed an information charging george zimmerman with murder in the second-degree. >> reporter: a decision martin's family and thousands of supporters had been demanding since his death. >> we just wanted him brought to justice and some kind of accountability for the murder of our son. >> reporter: after the announcement zimmerman was moved from jacksonville to the jail in sanford where his new attorney plans to meet with him for the first time. >> mr. zimmerman needs a very good and focused defense, so we're going to build him one. >> reporter: a defense that will enter its first plea in the case during an initial hearing later today. >> we plead not guilty presently. >> reporter: the high-profile case moving into the legal system but clearly still being tried in the court of public opinion. george zimmerman's attorney mark

o'mara says he's prepared for the bone hearing that will occur later today. he's expected to ask for a bond to allow george zimmerman to be released from jail while he awaits trial. >> thank you. elsewhere the world is watching north korea this morning in anticipation of a controversial long range rocket launch. the multistage missile carrying a weather satellite is on the launch pad, ready for liftoff within a window set by north korea of the next several days. but a japanese report quoting north korean sources say poor weather conditions is preventing a launch. in siro this morning a united nations supported cease-fire appears to be taking hold. the deadline passed with no immediate report of violence. opposition forces report the situation is calm at the start

of the cease-fire but activists are saying they have not seen syrian army forces pulling back from the cities where the worst fighting had occurred. the united nations estimates more than 9,000 people have been killed by syrian troops in the last year. back here at home florida congressman alan west claims there are communists in the house. the comments were made at a town hall event in jenson beach, florida tuesday night. he said somewhere around 80 members of the communist party are sitting in congress within the democratic party. west specifically singled out the congressional progressive caucus. and in a joint statement the co-chairs of that caucus called west's charges quote outrageous. here's a look at some other stories making news. cameras were rolling when a group of thieves held up a new york city deli. one camera being their own the suspect's video-taped themselves

robbing a store employee at knife point. the trio did not take any merchandise or cash before escaping with the victim's phone. no arrests have been made. philadelphia police are looking for a thief who stopped and robbed a 94-year-old woman right in broad daylight. surveillance cameras caught the suspect dragging the woman to the ground as he ripped her purse away. the victim fell and it caused her to suffer a broken arm and multiple cuts. and finally the eruption of a massive brush fire forced new jersey officials to shut down a portion of a major highway. 20-foot high flames fueled by gusty winds kept firefighters at bay for hours. officials estimate the five-alarm fire scorched about 60 acres before it was brought under control. no injuries were reported. now here's a look at your national and regional weather with meteorologist bill karins. good morning to you. >> good morning. you don't often see tornadoes, you see fires in california,

right? not yesterday. we actually had some video of it in stockton. five miles southwest of town. this one did a little bit of damage, knocked some shingles off the roof and destroyed a portion of an out building. california only averages about four tornadoes a year. this was one of them. didn't look that big. if you were under it it brought some gusty winds. we saw hail down in fresno south fresno. a lot of hail reports there. there's where the stockton tornado was reported. now as far as what we're dealing with today the next storm has moichbd. plenty of rain to talk about throughout central california, san francisco, san jose getting drenched right now. getting snow at the higher elevation. this will continue through today even behind the storm system we're going to get the instability showers and thunderstorms that will be hit or miss as we go throughout the afternoon especially throughout northern and central california. much cooler too. that cold front swung through arizona overnight and yesterday

and temperatures there definitely a little on the chilly side. 68 in albuquerque today, 76 in phoenix and there's those instability showers and storms that will include areas in oregon, isolated thunderstorms more or less some downpours and which will continue into the afternoon. arizona you're looking dry and cool. well this was the last in a series we had two storms this week in california. should improve for the weekend. >> finally a break. just in time. thanks so much. coming up stocks rebound. the government goes after apple. and a heartbreaking college acceptance blunder. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus the honor he's turning down in order to have nothing to do with his former band mates.

the stanley cup playoffs begin with a thriller thriller walkoff walk. you're watching "early today".

good morning and welcome back to "early today". i'm lynn berry and here's some of your top headlines this morning. nine miners in peru have been rescued after being trapped six days in a copper mine. they walk out through a tunnel that rescuers reinforced. the state legislator in connecticut has repealed the death penalty. the governor is expected to sign the law making connecticut the 17th state in the u.s. to end capital punishment. in california convicted mass murderer charles manson has been denied parole for the 12th time. the 70-year-old manson will not be eligible for parole again for 15 years. and this is amazing. in argentina, a mother said she

fell to her knees in shock after finding her newborn baby alive in a coffin in a morgue 12 hours after she was declared dead. the baby girl was born three months premature. took towards thought she was still born. the mother insisted on seeing her. she was found alive and now improving and being called a miracle baby. here's an early look at one of your top health headlines. a mystery virus similar to a norovirus is showing up in nursing homes. it's on the rise in long term care centers. it causes gastro intestinal symptoms. in children, elderly or people with weakened immune systems it could lead to hospitalization or even death. for more check out the health page at msnbc.com.

and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,805. s&p was up ten points the nasdaq gained 25. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei added 66 points while in hong kong the hang seng edged up 186. stocks snapped a five day losing streak thanks to a strong start to the earnings season. aluminum maker alcoa leaped 6% after posting a surprising quarter. that triggered a rebound led by stocks hardest hit during this week's slump including bank of america, boeing and ge. on the economic front the fed's so-called beig ebook report found economic activity in march continued to expand at a modest pace. more fresh data showed oil prices drove the cost of goods importd in the u.s. to their highest level in a year last

month. recent drilling boom has driven the price of natural gas below $2 a unit for the first time in more than a decade. here in the u.s. the justice department is suing apple and two big book publishers on rising the cost of ebooks as what's called the 9.99 price point. amazon, the alleged target of the price fixing scheme to announce it will soon drop some ebook prices to 9.99 or less. a new report shows the number of homes receiving first time foreclosure notices rose. and finally college application season isn't stressful enough, 900 applicants to ucla were led to believe they were accepted only to find out that an e-mail they received was

a mistake and they are, in fact, still on the waiting list. that's got to hurt. coming up, the knicks buck the bucs. the celtics win in overtime. two a's take one for the team. the flyers come from behind in a stanley cup playoff. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. >> looks like another day of wet weather in california and that will head into the middle of the nation. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today".

good morning. if you're just waking up this is "early today". in sports six of the top nhl teams faced off last night. beginning round one of hockey's stanley cup playoffs. here's mario solis. >> the stanley cup playoffs got off to a blistering start last night. no better way to begin the post-season with an overtime thriller in pittsburgh. pennsylvania bragging rites on the line between the penguins and flyers. sidney crosby getting the scoring started. penguins rolling 3-0. the flyers complete the come back in overtime.

jacob sneaks behind the defense and pops in the rebound. flyers rally from three down to take game one. to the west the predators have a post-season debut to be. the rookie scores two goals against the red wings. nashville held on to win. to van cover many think the kings are the toughest in the playoffs and they proved it against the canucks. jeff carter deflecting the puck off his skate. he scores a game winner. kings win game one 4-2. nba eighth place on the line. j.r. smith knocks down the rain maker, new york takes the lead in the final minute and wins the 111-107. if i asked you which team had the best record since the all-star break say the celtics. if so you're right. they have been clicking on all cylinders, leading overtime but gaining a win against the hawks. and here's a walkoff in the truest sense of the term. royals and a's in the 12th inning when jonathan hits him to

load the bases. on the next pitch he plunges gomes. a walkoff walk, oakland will trade bruises for wins any day. that's your look at sports on "early today". i'm mario solis. >> is britney spears about to outdo jennifer lopez. >> and elephants need a workout too. you're watching "early today".

. welcome back to "early today" on this thursday. rain moving through california once again as the second storm in three days. we saw of course that tornado and the hail. this one will be a little bit weaker. we won't see anything crazy like that but we could see some small hail in a few spots, even up in oregon. as we go towards tomorrow, slow improvement. california, cold air aloft will cause showers during the afternoon. well if you're watching us on kntr news source 16, eugene, oregon, get a sitter for the kids and enjoy a night discussing science with an expert. i need the night off. tonight's topic the os pleasure. cozmic pizza. you up for babysitting? >> no. sorry. >> really? >> i don't think you can trust

me. >> now here's an early look at this mornings headlines in entertainment. she's no beyonce but simon cowell's rating boost may come in the form of britney spears. she is close to inking a deal as judge on the show for $15 million. that's more than jennifer lopez. madonna's latest album notched biggest album debut of the year, but also just recorded the biggest second week drop for a number one album, ever. >> marc anthony filed for divorce from jennifer lopez, seeking joint custody of the twins. >> say it ain't so. there will be no axl rose or guns 'n roses reunion at the rock and roll hall of fame ceremony.

rose told more like warned, the hall, not to induct him. since the band's angry 1996 split, rose has wanted nothing to do with his former members, and made it clear today he still feels that way. we'll make bill sing. this comes to us from khnl. hawaii news now in honolulu where a change of address is helping the zoo's heaviest residents win a battle with the bulge. two elephants lost 600 pounds combined after moving into a new habitat. the dramatic weight loss was sparked by moving the elephant's food around. they shed 3% of their body weight but officials are happy the new health kick is work. i'm lynn berry. this is just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

a tradition in denmark makes toddlers parting with pacifiers easier. they bid farewell to their binkies leaving them on the pacifier trees. parents have used the ceremony to make the separation easier. aww, little guy. some spotted their own from childhood with colorful ribbons and good-bye notes. one zoo in mexico welcomed new furry felines. half bengal, half siberian tiger cubs were born nine days ago. despite being from two different

subspecies, it produced healthy babies. the zoo hopes to find another tiger breed full cubs since they are critically endangered, bengal tigers are considered threatened. one man in columbia has the perfect gift for the democratic leader of the free world, a donkey. the mayor along with a slew of followers would like to present president obama with this gift when he visits the country to attend the summit of americas on saturday. they hope he will accept the token of admiration and fly it home on air force one. what do you think the chances are of that? >> let's make the white house lawn like a petting zoo. >> i'm sure the girls would love that. in customs when it says do you have live animals with you, you wonder what case might that be, now we know. >> have to go through the scanning process. >> time for early look at stories we'll follow throughout the day on nbc. jury selection in the case against former senator and presidential candidate john edwards will begin in north carolina. edwards is charged with six counts including conspiracy,

false statements and accepting illegal campaign contributions during his 2008 presidential bid. in an attempt to conceal an extramarital affair. opening arguments are set to begin april 23rd. 151 years ago, in 1861, confederate forces opened fire on fort sumter, in south carolina marking the beginning of the american civil war. happy birthday to claire danes who turns 33. all day long, stay on top of the latest developments on those stories and others as they break on msnbc. tonight watch brian williams with nbc "nightly news." here is a look at what is coming up on "the today show." ashley judd fires back against what she calls misogynistic critiques of her appearance. a group of students came to their bus driver's rescue when he lost consciousness, talk about their harrowing ordeal. now keep on it 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.