this morning, on "early today," executive assessment. in his state of the union address, president obama warns the american dream is under siege. rough seas. some tense moments as a police boat cap sizes off the coast of australia. and stunning display. cameras are rolling as the northern lights illuminate the sky over nway. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello. good morning. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with an impassion plea. millions watched last night as president obama delivered his third state of the union speech. something democrats hope will be seen as a compelling appeal for his election to a second term.

in it, the president called for national unity and laid out plans for the future. nbc's steve handelsman has more from capitol hill. steve, good morning. >> lynn, thanks. good many from capitol hill. >> reporter: even his harshest critics concede this is what barack obama does best. his democrats up here love his state of the union address. >> the president of the united states! >> reporter: barack obama came to congress pushing his reelection feed that republicans call class war fare. >> we cannot settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of americans barely get bit, where we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules. >> reporter: he demanded a new rule for the wealthy like him. >> if you make more than a million dollars a year, you should not pay less than 30% in

taxes. >> reporter: the president took credit for 3 million new jobs, cutting the deficit 2 trillion and saving gm and chrysler. >> and, tonight, the american auto industry is back. >> reporter: he promised fairer trade with china, mortgage refis at a lower rate, and better policing of wall street. >> it's time to apply the same rules from top to bottom. no bailouts, no handouts, and no copouts. >> reporter: the republican response came from indiana governor mitch daniels. >> the president did not cause the economic and fiscal crises that continue in america tonight, but he was elected on a promise to fix them and he cannot claim that the last three years have made anything but worse. capitol, retiring congresswoman gabby giffords was an inspiration. the president cited the s.e.a.l.s that got osama bin laden. >> they work together. imagine what we could have accomplished if we follow their

example. >> reporter: billed the lawmakers, lower the temperature which could be tough in this election year. from capitol hill, i'm steve handelsman, nbc news. lynn, back to you. >> all right, steve. thanks so much. as president obama entered the capitol for his speech, he was overheard congratulating defense secretary leon panetta parnl for the success of a daring u.s. raid into somalia this morning to free two hostages including an american woman. the navy american s.e.a.l.s and a helicopter flew into a pirate base in central somalia and exchanged gunfire with the kidnappers and rescued american jesse buchanan and a coworker from denmark. the two aid workers were taken hostage in october as they helped clear mines. the rescuers and the hostages are all safely out of somalia. protesters in cairo are taking to the streets this morning, marking the first anniversary of the start of the revolution in egypt.

on january 25th, 2011, demonstrators broke through barriers to take over tahrir square in cairo. it became the topple that overtook their leader hosni mubar mubarak. egypt's current military ruler to themselves are under increasing pressure saying they are lifting the long hated emergency laws and releasing almost 2,000 people who were tried in military courts. here is an early look at other stories making news early today in america. surveillance video out of florida shows a 15-year-old boy crashing into the roof of an electronics store during a robbery. he can also be seen carrying a loaded handgun which he later fired inside the store. police say he snuck out the front door and even came back later with a friend to steal laptop computers. but one of the teens' mothers saw the video on the news and called police. now both suspects are under arrest. massachusetts senator john kerry is sporting two black eyes

after breaking his nose in an ice hockey game. but he found the right place to show off his injury. at monday's white house ceremony where president obama honored hockey's boston bruins for their stanley cup win. and speaking of sports. indianapolis is pulling out all of the stops to make sure you know they are hosting super bowl xlvi. giant roman numerals 30 feet high are going up in the city's monument circle. you can catch the big game right here on this nbc station, that is one week from sunday. now for a look at your national and region weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with a look at the forecast. >> they are predicting one of the most watched bowls of all time. >> i will be watching the food bubbling on top of my stove. good morning. we are watching a heavy rain event in texas in a long, long time. flash flood warnings for san antonio and austin and dallas

picked up 2 inches overnight. it's a rough morning commute right through the heart of central texas. we have a tornado watch that has been issued for in much region also. we have had the horrible drought and a lot of lake levels are very low and we need this rainfall. we didn't want to get it all in one night, one day. but this is a storm system that is slow moving and it has plenty of moisture coming in off the gulf here. there is the new tornado watch. it does not include the dallas area but goes from san antonio to corpus christi, victoria and the outskirts of houston. a chance of a few tornadoes. just a heavy rain is just, you know, soaking the region. i told you we have already picked up 2 to 3 inches and probably get an additional 2 to 3 inches on top of that and eventually this rain will move into mississippi and arkansas and louisiana. it pushes east during the that's a look at the national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. another mild day in florida.

80 degrees in miami. sunny. the forecast lately. not as warm in areas like philadelphia and baltimore and d.c. and new york but can't complain with temperatures still in the 40s. we will any updates on the flash flooding taking place in texas coming up. stocks sputter and apple shines and how you can hobnob an english castle. your early morning headlines are straight ahead. plus, he has lots of admirers and they are mad as heck this morning that he didn't get any oscar nominations. coming up, alex ovechkin sticks it to the nhl. detroit crowns a prince and a miracle shot you won't believe. you're watching "early today."

good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. amateur video allegedly shows syrian government troops

cracking down on protesters homes where reportedly 48 people were killed on tuesday after syria rejected an arab league plan for assad, arab withdrew from the country. staff sergeant frank rutirich will not get any jail time for leaving a squad that killed 24 unarmed iraqis. he made a plea deal for a lesser charge in hadifha six years ago. none of the other marines involved were punished. a police boat overturned in rough seas off the coast of australia. they were helping search for an 8-year-old boy who has been missing since monday. the officers involved were not hurt. judge wesley brown, the nation's oldest federal judge, has died at 104. he was appointed by president kennedy in 1962. judge brown said he was appointed for life or good behavior, whichever he lost first. and the northern lights have been putting on a spectacular show these last few days. the biggest solar storm in more than six years is boosting the

aurora borealis and lighting up the skies with a dazzling display above northern europe. now here is another look at one of your top health headlines on msnbc.com. the government reports an unusually mild flu season so far. less than 4% of lab samples through the second week of january came back positive for influenza, compared to 26% last year. we may not have hit the peak of flu activity. health officials recommend if you have not been vaccinated, you should get a flu shot. for more information on this, check out the health page at msnbc.com. now here is an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,675 after losing 33 points yesterday. the s&p lost a point. but the nasdaq was up 2. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo, the nikkei climbed 98 points, while in hong kong, the

hang sang rose 167. after a less than impressive tuesday, stocks could be in for a strong start today. after the bell, apple blew past analyst estimates for revenue and profit, thanks to staggering fourth quarter sales of iphones and ipads. in late trade, apple shares swelled into record territory. earlier tuesday, worries about greece resurfaced as talks to restructure that country's debt stalled once again. that compounded caution raised by a warning from the international monetary fund about the global impact of europe's recession. a slew of lackluster earnings reports at home didn't help stocks either. verizon missed estimates by a penny as profits were cut into their profit margins. weak earnings from utah based zion bank made the biggest drag on the s&p. mcdonald's reported strong sales but regardless its shares fell 2%.

not surprisingly, yahoo! missed quarterly expectations due to dwindling ad demand. nvidai traded lower after late day that disk drive shortages hampered profits. on the flip side, disk drive maker western digital boosted the s&p after coming in well above earnings estimates. luxury retailer coach rose 6%, thanks to strong holiday sales. in deal news, swiss drug giant roche made an offer for iluminia for $5.7 billion. keep an eye on boeing. a norwegian airline announced today it is buying 122 boeing 737s. finally. fans of the pbs drama dalton abbey can now tour and lunch at the actual english castle where the popular series is shot for a cool 10 thousands bucks. people say it's great. coming up, big baseball signings and a big hockey suspension and the heat beat

lebron's old team. plus, trying to save a ball from going out, a high school player makes a miracle shot. there was just one problem. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. we are seeing the heaviest rain in the drought stricken texas area we have seen in years. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today." everyday, an average of 5,000 people

switch from cascade to finish dishwasher detergent. that's about 150,000 a month - over 2 million people so far. maybe it's because finish quantum gives them cleaner, sparkling dishes without having to rinse them first. now see for yourself why millions have switched to finish. join the finish revolution. and for two years in a row, finish quantum was rated #1 by a leading consumer publication. let's get a recap, merv.ack to the cleaning games. [ merv ] thanks, other merv. mr. clean magic eraser extra power was three times faster on permanent marker. elsewhere against dirt, it was a sweep, withcuffed sports equipment... had it coming. grungy phones... oh! super dirty! and grimy car rims... wow! that really works! ...all taking losses. it looks like mr. clean has won everything. the cleaning games are finished? and so are we.

okay, but i just took a mortgage out on the cabinet. [ male announcer ] clean more, work less, with the mr. clean magic eraser extra power. good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, the american league has signed another hitting star through free agency away from the national league. here is fred roggin with an early look at all of your sports headlines. good morning. we will start with news out of detroit. the tigers open their wallets and sign the biggest free agent left on the market. agreed to a nine-year, $214 million deal with prince fielder. he finished third in mvp voting last summer. he will fill the void left by victor martinez who could miss the entire season with a torn acl. you may remember fielder's dad cecil played six years for the tigers during the '90s. san francisco giants also got their man. avoided arbitration with cy young winner tim lincecum.

re-signed him to a two-year, 4.5 million dollar deal. alex ovechkin stuck it to the league yesterday announcing he won't play in sunday's all-star game because he is a suspended player. no ovechkin but plenty of matthew perrow. scored three goals and nearly doubled that against boston. perro's first hat trick of his career. ovechkin wasn't there but he was there to give him a shaving cream pie. caps win it 5-3. lebron james facing his former team the cavs. james with a step-back jumper, fans in cleveland now all about that shot. he had 18. no surprise here. lebron disappeared in the fourth so chris bosh carried the heat. 17 of his 35 in the quarter. miami held on to win it 92-85. finally. here is an incredible shot that got one player high fives from the other team! happened during a high school basketball game. the player in white hustled to the loose ball and before it went out of bounds tossed it up behind his back and through the net! that is absolutely incredible. you're not going to see a better three-pointer. one problem. it was in the wrong basket! chalk up three for the other team.

then again, after no-look behind the back three-pointer, does it really matter which basket it goes in? >> that is your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. >> poor kid! coming up, why demi moore is in the hospital. the latest showbiz couple that is denying breakup rumors. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, no matter how big they are now, they started small. we will show you a master in the making. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." some extremely heavy rain and thunderstorms rolling through texas. flash flood warnings san antonio and especially around austin right now. really heavy rain so be careful driving there this morning. elsewhere, we are looking pretty nice today. mild and dry on the east coast. not as warm as yesterday, but still very good for the middle of winter. if you're watching us on wbla tv in baltimore, maryland, discover over 80 objects used in daily life in africa that merged artery at the hand-held personal arts from africa at the baltimore museum of art. that is your "early today" event of the today. here is an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. tough times continue for actress demi moore who has hospitalized late monday night. moore, who recently split with husband ashton kutcher was admitted for what her spokesperson called exhaustion. however a source told tmz moore was rushed to the hospital for a substance abuse incident.

she also bowed out of the upcoming film "loveless." elsewhere. vanessa parody has told a french paper contrary to reports, her 14-year-old relationship with johnny depp is not over. a judge will rule next week on actress halle berry's attempt to keep the father of her child from contacting them until a child endangerment investigation is concluded. finally, first it was the sexiest man alive and now fans of ryan gosling are up in arms because he has been snubbed for an oscar nomination. >> what a shame. >> it's ridiculous. bloggers buzz what is called the year of the gosling, the actor's film work in either "drive" or "ides on march" should have been recognized. the academy. everybody can remember it and

protest it. it's ridiculous. >> you're pathetic. >> i am, i know. i'm digging that hole deeper and deeper. it's a shame. this comes to us from wxia in nearby atlanta, georgia, in peachtree city, adrian, a 7-year-old s a full-blown piano prodigy. he won first prize in an international child competition. ironically, he said being on one of the world's best known stages was the first time he wasn't nervous. a fan of albert einstein, adrian has already jumped two grade levels and hopes to one day be as talented in science as he is in music. make us all feel like underacheevers, huh? i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," your first stop of the day on your nbc station.

>> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning. we're off to a quiet start on this wednesday morning. temperatures in the upper 20's and low 30's in most areas. 32 in frederick. it will be pretty nice today. sunshine this morning. a few clouds this afternoon. high temperature expected in the upper 40's. we have some rain around the corner. >> 4:57. coming up, a change in the way the state deals with officials proven guilty of a crime.

>> the president hits the road to sell his plan to voters. >> maryland lawmakers are weighing in on the state of the union address. >> sarah caldwell checking on your morning commute. nothing weather-related out there

[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning. i am lisa robinson. >> i am stan stovall. thank you for joining us this morning. >> it will be cooler the yesterday. we were in the upper 50's yesterday. this is still a pretty decent forecast. 32 degrees at the