today," testing the limits. the u.s. supreme court looks at the legality of arizona's tough immigration law. buyer beware. surveillance video captures a violent purse snatching in a parking lot. bird brain, why was a rubber chicken sent to the edge of the earth's atmosphere. captions paid for by nbc-universal television this is "early today" for april 26th, 2012. hello, very good morning to you, i'm veronica de la cruz. >> today we begin with the immigration battle. the u.s. supreme court heard arguments yesterday on the government's challenge to arizona's immigration law. from the questions and opinions they expressed most of the justices sounded inclined toward ruling the law constitutional.

nbc's steve handelsman has details. >> reporter: supporters of the crackdown on illegal immigration gathered outside the supreme court. and opponents who charged the arizona law would target hispanics, the obama administration dropped that charge. >> the government conceded no it's not about racial profiling. >> reporter: the case is about arizona's right to require police to determine the immigration status of anyone they stop and suspect is illegal. and to detain them while they check with the feds. obama administration lawyer argued arizona is working to drive illegal immigrants out of the state. but conservative justice antonin scalia noted arizona is not trying to kick out anybody, the federal government has already said does not belong here. it seems to me, said chief justice john roberts, the federal government doesn't want to know who is here illegally and who is not.

swing justice anthony kennedy asked must the state accept in the borders illegal migrants? liberal justice stephen breyer asked if they call the feds, what's the conflict? sonia sotomayor warned him about the case. you can see its not selling very well. jan brewer left the hearing encouraged. >> arizona has the right, i as governor, i felt, was somewhat ensured that i had a right to protect the citizens of arizona. >> reporter: brewer charged president obama sued her state to get a boost with hispanic voters. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. nbc news confirmed newt gingrich plans to suspend his campaign next tuesday. the former house speaker will make the announcement in washington. it is likely he will endorse the

presumed gop nominee mitt romney. there was more dramatic testimony on day three of john edwards trial. the star witness testified about the alleged plot to use campaign funds to hide his affair with a former staffer. jay gray has more. >> reporter: for 2 1/2 days andrew young described an intricate plan that was implemented by john edwards to hide his mistress, rielle hunter, from his wife and the public during his run for the white house. the defense got the first shot at the state's star witness in the high profile case. attacking in consistencies between his testimony and tell-all book he has written about the affair. at one point the attorney said to mr. young "you really hate mr. edwards, don't you" his response, "i have mixed feelings." young was also pushed about commissions from political organizations that he falsely submitted under his wife's name. >> the overall effect of the

aggressive and many times effective cross-examination, a grilling, was likely to undermine andrew young's credibility in the eyes of the jury. >> reporter: they have to tread lightly after several comments that could help the defense. young has said repeatedly money from rachel mellon was given to edwards for personal use and expected nothing in return for those donations. he indicated several times edwards didn't believe he was doing anything wrong. >> every time andrew young questioned john edwards about the lawfulness of it john edwards said i thought about it, i looked into it, it's perfectly okay. >> jay gray, nbc news. here is a look at other stories making early today in america. in florida, purse snatchers dragged a woman more than 150 feet. you can see her hanging to the passenger side before falling off. then circles around her before the attack. the woman suffered minor injuries and lost her purse in

the assault. in philadelphia, call her a bad samaritan. a woman picked up a wad of more than $2,000 in cash, after the man in front of her unknowingly dropped it. instead of giving the money back, police say she stole it, looking around to make sure no one saw her do it. police arrested the woman who reportedly confessed. in indiana, boom went the dynamite as crews demolished part of a bridge linking the hoosier state with kentucky, blew up ramps, a new bridge will be ready next year. in pennsylvania, this week's wild weather meant one last blast for skiers and snowboarders. a resort in somerset county, got a foot-and-a-half of snow. that meant they were able to reopen for one last day, the latest they have ever finished a season. they also claim to have been the last ski resort on the east coast open this year.

now for a look at national weather here is bill karins, i think mountain high last week in california was seeing the exact same thing. >> a storm about a week and a half ago that went through. we had a couple of late season snows. hopefully we're done. >> it was nuts. >> let's talk about what's hamg this morning. two storm systems moving through the west. a lot of them with light rain. heaviest rainfall totals in seattle, two-thirds of an inch. portland three tenths of an inch and same four in l.a. stormy weather the last 24 hours, not a lot of heavy rain, a lot of light rain with these showers and storms and they will continue to push through southern california. l.a. and showers east side of town there up towards the beaches. san diego some showers near ocean side. looks like now we're kicking it inland. i think the weather will improve

dramatically today. different story for the north. i-5 to portland to olympia, rain. this will kick through other areas. over the last hour boise has had pretty heavy rainfall. here's a big look. all the white shows clouds. we're covered in the clouds. many areas of the west. cooler air and drier air is on the way. showers in the forecast for many areas of the intermountain west especially in the northwest. umbrella day. portions of oregon state. also chance of thunderstorms today, arizona and phoenix. not a big storm going through.

>> nasdaq leaves, big ben stands pat and having it your way cage free. plus you won't believe who the latest actress is linked to ashton kutcher but she's saying no way. coming up game seven between the caps and bruins goes into overtime and could calvin johnson's season be over before it starts? you're watching "early today".

a very good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm veronica de la cruz. here are some of the top headlines this morning. after days of white house pressure, the republican led house is expected to vote on a bill that would prevent interest rates on federal student loans from doubling. john boehner argues the bill should be paid for by cutting money from president obama's health care overhaul. connecticut became the nation's 17th state to abolish the death penalty yesterday.

the measure, however, only applies to future cases, and not to the 11 men already on death row. a u.s. marine who criticized president obama on facebook over his economic policies is being given an other than honorable discharge. 26-year-old sergeant gary stein will lose most of his benefits. with the help of california school children, nasa launched a special probe to study the sun's most intense radiation storm since 2003, a weather balloon equipped with a rubber chicken. camilla wore a space suit equipped with sensors to measure radiation. now here is another look how wall street will kick off the day. >> the dow will open at 13,090 after gaining 9 points. the s&p added 18, nasdaq sky rocketed upwards 68 points. overseas trading in tokyo, the nikkei up a fraction. in hong kong the hang seng rose

163. investors will be watching unemployment numbers and other earnings reports. apple's big report sent stock soaring back over $600 giving the nasdaq composite index the biggest gain of the year. exxon-mobil raised dividend by 21%. it was ahead of its earnings report today. the latest job data is expected to show a slight decrease in unemployment claims from last week. ben bernanke said the central bank plans to leave interest rates at the current level until 2014 but they are prepared to take action if necessary. foreclosure activity increased in half the nation's cities in the first quarter according to realty trak, overall it was down compared to last year. facebook will beef up security against hackers and spammers, eventually offering free anti-virus software to 900 million users. protesters marched outside the general electric shareholder

meeting in detroit, calling on the company to pay their fair share in taxes. ge, minority owner of nbc universal says the tax rate of 25% has been paid. a whopper of an announcement from burger king, the first u.s. fast food chain to have all the eggs and pork come from cage-free chickens and pigs by 2017. a movement to placate animal welfare critics. >> the nuggets quiet the thunder. a new member joins the 400 home run club. plus, washington caps off round one of the stanley cup playoffs in overtime. the early morning sports headlines are ahead. incredible record breaking heat continues in texas, the rain for the northeast. the forecast is coming up and you're watching "early today".

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports last night the capitals eliminated the defending champions boston bruins to move on to the second round of the stanley cup playoffs. here is fred roggin with an early look at all the sports headlines. good morning, there is one thing better than a game seven. that is overtime in game seven,

let's go to boston, caps and bruins, winner moves on, loser goes home. tied, sudden death overtime. 3:00 in, drove to the net, tim thomas first save couldn't make the second. joel ward slammed home the rebound and with that, the door was slammed in the bruins season. the caps took out the defending champs with the dramatic 2-1 win in ot. more where that came from, two more game sevens tonight, rangers and senators at 7:00 eastern. at 8:30, panthers and devils from florida. the race for the scoring title in the nba came down to the final game. kevin durant scored 32. kobe bryant will have to score 38 tonight in sacramento to win the third scoring title. kobe, the ball is in your court. baseball, white sox paul konerko, reached a milestone, his 400th career homer. the fourth player in team history to reach the mark. oakland tied with it a two-run

shot, a bloop single ended it. in came the winning won. oakland won 5-4. billy butler put an end to the royals 12 game losing streak, pair of homers against the indians. kansas city crushed cleveland, 8-2. the lions calvin johnson will be on the cover of the madden nfl 13 video game. beat out cam newton with 52% of the vote. it's an honor and curse. the majority of players featured have been injured or suffered drastic decline in their careers. the lions have been through so much over the years it will take more than a curse to get them down. that is the early look at sports on "early today" i'm fred roggin. >> mirror, mirror on the wall who is the fairest woman of all? the entertainment news is straight ahead. getting a glimpse of baby

owls, views that are very rare and very cute. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." a lot of wet weather out there this morning especially heading towards oregon, portland, the 5 getting hang up southern portions of washington state. boise had heavy rain. vegas and phoenix wait until this afternoon, we'll spark off

showers and storms. temperatures a lot cooler. tomorrow, definitely improvement out there. still some showers in the northwest but most areas will be dry. if you're watching us on king 5 news, nearby bellevue, artists seeking healing through their art. let's move on to some headlines and entertainment news. rumors of a relationship from the 70s show becoming reality are not true. mila kunis shot down reports she is dating ashton kutcher says it's absurd, a friend is a friend. lindsay lohan was late for her guest shoot on glee. >> she was probably doing homework for some little kid. >> a cast member said some people show up late and throw a

wrench in things, not cool. "people" named beyonce's the world's most beautiful woman for 2012. she said she feels more beautiful than ever because she has given birth. she does have that glow about her. >> after successfully reinvigorated "journey to the center of the earth," "mummy" and "fast and furious," dwayne johnson's friends are referring to him as franchise viagra. finally, the beach boys kicked off their 50th anniversary tour last night in tucson. the first stop on a five-month 56 show tour. >> you know how you grueling that is, five months, 56 stops. they still got it. probably sell out most of those crowds. >> sure. think about all their hits. and your favorite song -- >> sing them all the way. >> i love it. >> this comes from pullman, washington a group of baby owls are on the mend after getting a

rude push out of the nest. nine great horned owl chicks are being cared for by washington state university. five of the little critters were knocked out of the tree after someone cut it down. four more owls nest came down after a home renovation. it's rare for humans to get a close look at owls so young. so cute. i'm veronica de la cruz, this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

one village almost seems as if it has been hit by a biblical plague. thousands of toads appeared as part of the annual migration. they come from a pond but don't usually travel near people's homes. experts say weather conditions are to blame for the alternate routes and the toads will slow down once they have found a suitable habitat. one lucky polar bear cub is settling in their home. in russia. ecologists found it wandering alone, the mother no where to be seen. scientists took the bear back to the base camp and later brought it to the russian zoo. so cute. a canadian carpenter's pride brought him praise and problems. the two story tree house resting in a hemlock tree went unnoticed

for three years. but after he sent photos to a magazine, it became famous. one big problem, he built it without permission on public land, supporters are working to keep it safe from destruction. does it stay or go? >> amazing treehouse, how can you take it down? >> he built it using $10,000 of materials he found for free on craigslist. >> expensive treehouse. that is like manhattan prices. >> it's gorgeous. >> ten grand. >> time for early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day right here on nbc. in new york, the 2012 football league draft will begin at radio city music hall, where players will find out they get a shot next season at playing in the pros. the draft will be held over three days. today marks 26 years since one of the world's worst nuclear accidents. the chernobyl disaster in the former soviet union, now ukraine, led to the deaths of an estimated 30 people, mostly due

to radiation poisoning. happy birthday to actress carol burnett, turns 79 years old today. happy birthday. stay on top of the developments on those stories and others as they break on msnbc, watch brian williams with nightly news. here is what is coming up later today on "the today show." in an exclusive, a catholic school teacher who claims she was fired for using fertility treatments responds to the church that let her go. the family of a missing fort bragg soldier speaks out live in an exclusive interview. now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and 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 thursday, see you back here tomorrow.