this morning on "early today," you're hired. gop front-runner mitt romney picks up a surprise endorsement from real estate mogul donald trump. egypt unrest. another day of violent crashes over wednesday's soccer violence. telltale sign. a man takes matters into his own hands, fed up with crime. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

hello. good morning. i'm lynn berry. real estate mogul and would-be political playmaker donald trump gave mitt romney his endorsement yesterday. the move came as a surprise to newt gingrich's campaign officials and added fuel to critics who claim romney is out of touch with the less fortunate. nbc's brian moore joins us from washington. brian, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lynn. as mitt romney points out only in america. donald trump standing on stage in vegas putting his endorsement behind mitt romney. he believes mitt romney will not allow bad things to continue to happen to this country but the image of two rich guys standing on that stage didn't help romney get over his gaffe on wednesday in which he said he was, quote, not concerned about the very poor because they have an ample safety net. romney says that was a misstatement but it's been pounced on by his opposition. newt gingrich has jumped on him

saying that we should care about the very poor. yesterday, during the national prayer breakfast, though, it is not political, president obama referred to the very poor. he says that he believes he should be his brother's keeper. it was the president's most explicit account yet of how his personal religious beliefs play into his decision-making on big national problems. lynn? >> brian moore there for us in washington, thanks so much. elsewhere, the nation's largest breast cancer charity, susan g. komen for the cure is facing backlash for planned parenthood. michael bloomberg he'll know date up to $250,000 in matching funds to planned parenthood to make up for that money. nbc's lisa meyers has more. >> really awful.

should be ashamed of themselves. >> reporter: she struggled to contain the damage first on msnbc. >> that's not true. not true. >> there is an explosion of anger among your long time supporters. >> there is a tremendous amount, lisa, of emotion. whenever you're dealing with issues of vulnerable populations, whenever there is the idea of change. >> a lot of folks see this as a political indecision. >> we are not a political organization and this is not based on a political decision. >> reporter: brinker says the group is under investigation in congress and some states. because much of that money was passed on to other providers and didn't meet new grant criteria designed to measure an improve effectiveness. however, sources knowledgeable about the decision claim these are excuses and coleman was trying to find a way to stop funding planned parenthood because of pressure from antiabortion groups. they also say komen's top health official molly williams recently

resigned in protest over the decision. brinker would not comment. your own organization has said that planned parenthood using your money has done life saving work to help low income women. >> we think they have done some great work over a period of time and we are not commenting on the past. we are commenting on the nature of the grants that have to be done in the future. >> reporter: brinker says other grant recipients also will lose funding under the new policies. lisa meyers, nbc news, washington. here is a look at some of the other stories making news early today in america. new york police have released video of an armed robber terrorizing people at gun point at local gas stations. newly released video shows the moment of impact when a bus carrying rush hour commuters was hit by a pickup truck that had is cross the median. the december crash killed the driver but everybody aboard the bus survived.

something they credit to her quick reaction. a sign of times in south carolina. literally, one man has had enough of growing crime. he has had you up a message outside of his home reading, crack dealers and users and prostitutes not welcome. the street only has five homes but 5 calls for law enforcement there the past year. some aren't too thrilled by the sign but authorities say it is within the law. check out the home of one new york giants fan. it's turned into, well, a giant shrine! 40 years of memorabilia, including the actual 10-yard marker from the old giants stadium and a pair of seats. he's not going to be there on sunday because he scored a ticket to the big game, lucky for him, if you didn't. of course, you can catch it right here on this nbc station. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is meteorologist bill karins with a look at the forecast. good morning to you. >> i will not judge. >> don't judge! >> i will not.

>> he has his moments. >> and all on sunday. see how it ends up for him. good morning. the big talk of town? the blizzard. finally, we have a blizzard out there. we haven't had many wig winter storm this winter season. denver could pick up 12 to 18 inches by the time we are done. a few spots could get up to two feet and blizzard warnings in effect for the eastern plains of colorado and section of nebraska out into kansas and north platte, cheyenne and not bad down around pueblo. it's snowing hard on the front range in the urban corridor too. as far as the rain goes, it's warmer on the front side. we have had some thunderstorms overnight. topeka, kansas and manhattan, kansas city. the blue on the map is the heavy snow on i-25 the urban corridor there. a perfect setup you get a rarely

significant storm. a slow moving one too and we could see some areas getting up to two feet of ♪ snosnow. nebraska is going to get covered. interstate 80 significant snow. dry and fine on the east coast. see thunderstorms out ahead of that storm. texas, arkansas and that's a look at the national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. a beautiful day in raleigh, north carolina. almost up to 60 degrees with lots of blue carolina sunshine blue skies i should say and sunshine. still chilly in the northern plains. fun talking about a snowstorm for once and i'm sure a lot of kids will have no school today in colorado. >> i'm really jealous. bill, thanks. coming up, wall street waits on jobs. the lottery winner who is not changing her line. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead.

plus, word of a staggering television offer made to beyonce. nba all stars are announced and good news for peyton manning and a danceoff between the giants victor cruz and madonna. you're watching "early today."

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good morning. welcome back. i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. according to this morning's "the washington post" defense secretary leon panetta believes there is a strong likelihood that israel will attack iran this spring to stop it from building a nuclear bomb. panetta did not dispute the report which says officials are reportedly concerned about an attack on iran's nuclear facilities soon. at least two people were killed in egypt in battles between protesters and security forces. the demonstrators blamed police for not stopping bloody soccer violence on wednesday that

killed more than 70 people. a rare bipartisan vote of 96-3. the senate passed a bill banning members of congress from using insider information to make personal stock trades. the house may approve the bill next week. and slippery conditions from snow and ice on a highway contributed to a 20-car pileup in milan, italy. no one died but more than 20 people suffered minor injuries. now here is another look at one of your top health headlines on msnbc.com. new england patriots quarterback tom brady is fighting for his ailing 66-year-old old quarterback coach. a staph infection after leg surgery five years ago caused tom martinez kidneys to fail. now, he's one of more than 90,000 americans waiting for a kidney donor. brady's facebook page links to a website matching donors.com which connect living organic donors to strangers in need. for more information on this and other health stories, 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 12,705, after losing 11 points yesterday. the s&p was up a point. the nasdaq gained 11. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo, the nikkei down 44 points. but in hong kong, the hang seng added 17. investors played it safe thursday as they waited on today's january employment report. today is all about jobs. some analysts do not expect to see strong increases after wednesday's report on private sector employment showing fewer jobs created than expected. yesterday, earnings missed from merck dragged on the dow and weighed down pfizer. mixed january retail sales painted a picture of cost conscious shoppers. discounters, costco and target

topped expectations, while department chains macy's and dillard's came up short. abercrombie and fitch tumbled but it wasn't all bad news. gap projected better than expected earnings thanks to sales from banana republic. green mountain's shares up 14%. merger talks between xstrata which could create the third largest mining company in the world gave investors a doze of healthy optimism. swiss's older bank has been indicted by u.s. prosecutors on charges it helped wealthy americans stash more than $1.2 billion in secret accounts. talk about job satisfaction. a very lucky 21-year-old waitress in florida who won a million dollars in a scratchoff game says she has no plans to quit her day job. she says she likes working there

that much. good for her. coming up, the knicks battle the bulls. peyton manning can play next year. and the nba names its all-stars. plus has madonna tipped off who she is rooting for in the super bowl? your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. a major winter storm in the middle of the country will head east this weekend. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, getting off to a quick start in this lockout shortened nba season was particularly important for anyone shooting for a chance to make the all-star team. here is nbc's mario solis with an early look at all of your sports headlines. >> good morning. the starting lineups for the nba all-star game have been announced and magic dwight howard was the leading vote girt in the east and the lakers kobe bryant got the most votes in the west. the knicks carmelo anthony and the bulls and derek rose starters for the east and faced off at madison square garden last night. rose takes the game by storm in the fourth. scoring 15 of his 32 in the final quarter. amare stoudemire matches rose blow for blow. keeps the knicks in it.

comes down to the final shot. melo heaves it from around half-court and that is not going to get it done. bulls win. also on the all-star is andrew bynum and blake griffin and kevin durant. timmy duncan a 13-time all-star but on the bubble to make the team this year. a game high 19 points and 9 boards against the hornets and help his cause. san antonio improves 12-1 at home with a win. nfl peyton manning got good news yesterday. he has been medically cleared to play football again. peyton missed the entire season after having multiple surgeries on his neck. now the only question is whether manning will play next season for the colts or somewhere else. finally, super bowl xlvi is this sunday. it sure is going to be a good one. no matter who wins the game, the material girl will be performing the super bowl halftime show. yesterday, she channeled her

inner victor cruz. the giants receiver salsa dances every time he scores a touchdown. who is the better dancer? you be the judge. here is victor. the giants hope he does a lot of dancing against the patriots. super bowl xlvi is this sunday on nbc. that is your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. "harry potter" has a big role at the box office this weekend. and ringo has his day on a beatle reunion. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. and a symbol of government regulation going too far. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today" on this friday morning. big snowstorm taking place in the greater denver area. thunderstorms out ahead of that including potential for isolated tor tornadoes in oklahoma and texas. we will watch the storms. the storm heads east but not as much cold air to work so more or less a rain and snow mix from kansas city to chicago tomorrow and plain old rain through tennessee into the mid-atlantic as we go into your sunday. if you're watching us on wvit, nbc 30 in hartford, connecticut, stir up child memories with artists who work with toys in a wide range of medias at the toy stories at the westport art center. that is your "early today" event of the today. here is an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. a battle is shaping up this

weekend at the box office. the thriller "the women in black" starring "harry potter's" daniel radcliffe is expected by some to take the top spot earning up to $20 million. "chronicle" some experts see finishing a distant second and other sees is trouncing "the women in black" with as much as $25 million. "big miracle" based about a whale family rescue should open around $10 million. ringo starr wouldn't rule out playing with paul mccartney but any reunion at the london olympics, he said it wouldn't happen. beyonce has hired six nannies to care for her daughter around the clock. even more mind boggling. simon cowell has offered her $6

million to be a judge on the "x factor." it's over five years, $100 million each year. if it's even true, it is hard to imagine unless she is physically printing money on the set. >> she could afford six more nannies. i just want to borrow one! >> oh, bill, so sad. i'll baby-sit. from detroit, in nearby farmington, the future of one boy's tree house is up in the air. city officials have told the 13-year-old his back tree house violates a local ordinance and will have to and down. the boy built it along with his friends and his dad. but it sits 26 feet above the ground so the zoning board admits it's well built, we agree but believe it's too dangerous and could lead to lawsuits. the boy and his family is vowing

to fight the rule. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," your first stop of the day today 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 friday. the skies are clear and we're on the chilly side. we're in the 30's in most spots. 32 in jarrettsville and in frederick. the forecast for today -- mostly sunny skies. cooler than the last couple days. high temperature between 45 and

50. we will come back and check the forecast for the rest of the super bowl weekend. >> 34 degrees on tv hill. how baltimore city police will honor a slain police officer. >> a trooper is sent to shock trauma after two pursuits. i'm jennifer franciotti. >> a reality show star and protesting the rule. campaign roundup. >> sarah caldwell checking on your morning commute. we wil c

[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'm mindy basara. >> and i'm stan stovall. thank you for joining us this morning. morning. >>