>> hello, and very good morning to you. i'm veronica de la cruz. a major new republican endor

endorseme endorsement, mitt romney is back pedaling today. >> reporter: mitt romney's 12-point illinois win impressed big-name republicans. and won on the endorsement of jeb bush who said now is the time for republicans >> romney got undercut by one of his top aides. romney plans to erase his focus. like you shake an etch-a-sketch. >> he said you just take, turn it over, shake it and then you start all over. >> mocking romney as a fake

conservative, which he rushed to deny. >> the issues i'm running on will be exactly the same. i'm running as a conservative republican. >> newt gingrich joined the attack. >> so here's governor romney's staff. they don't have the decency to wait until they get the nomination to explain to us how they'll sell us out. >> and santorum had the win-man to try to shoot romney down. >> city commissioners in stanford, florida, have voted no confidence in the police chief over his investigation in the controversial shooting death of a black teenager. three of five commissioners voted against the chief with one demanding he resign in the wake of a killing of an unarmed 17-year-old trayvon martin. the city manager who has the actual authority to fire the chief says he would take the vote into consideration. in new york city, hundreds march to demand justice. martin was telling the crowd that his son did not deserve to

die. the suspect in the killing of seven people in france is holding up french police into a second day. more than 300 police officers surrounded a house in police. nbc has details. >> reporter: during a day of negotiations and stalling, a profile of the suspect emerged. 24-year-old muhammad marah is a french-algerian extract. he said he trained with alkquida in pakistan. he returned to france to commit jihad. marahs says he killed three french soldiers to protest western intervention in afghanistan and killed three children and an adult in a school this week in revenge for children killed in palestine. a man claiming to be the shooter called into a french

network before the cease started. >> he said he wasn't scared. he said the only thing that could stop him was either prison or death. and he would welcome both. >> a prosecutor said murah had planned more attacks and an end to the situation will come as a relief to the residents. >> and a look at some other stories making news early today in america. security camera captured a home invasion in philadelphia. six gunmen attacked the couple as they're pull untying their driveway. one of the victims can be seen crawling on the pavement. the robbers took cash and jewelry. a big scare for an ohio family after a 25-loot long boulder smashed into their home. fortunately, the family was in a different part of the home when it happened. elsewhere in ohio, a house explosion possibly due to a

build up of natural gas. no one was injured. a new jersey neighborhood has become home to dozens of pigs. 26 in all. and they're living inside an r.v. many of the humans living on the streets aren't exactly hog wild about it, you could say. but police in animal control say there is no evidence that the pigs are being mistreated. and, finally, a reporter for our nbc affiliate ran a foul of a rooster who apparently is no fan of the media. >> you can still see the tire tracks here where the cattle rustler pulled up to this entrance. >> that is the first time that i have been attacked by a rooster at work. >> the angry bird actually pecked her three or four times despite being the smallest rooster in the coop. and, now, a look for your national region.

the weather channel forecast. he got her good. >> i just wanted to hear her reaction. >> that was pretty good. it was a beautiful weather we talked about, obviously. nice spring weather today. let's talk about the high temperatures. it was 87 in chicago yesterday. incredible heat. that was the hottest temperature during the streak of record highs. temperatures did cool off in some areas like minneapolis and kansas city. and you notice that florida has also still been very warm along with the southeast. still some cool air in the rockies. still very mild on the east coast. we are going to watch some rainfall continuing today, especially around the gulf. it's moving through biloxi and around mississippi and mobile, alabama. scattered showers from oklahoma city off back up to kansas city into st. louis. as far as the heavy rains go, you can see the thunderstorms

trying to come on shore. definitely some downpours on and off today. maybe 2-3 inches total. as far as the forecast goes, hopefully we'll get some sunshine today. and if it does, it will be very, very warm. and, also, we're finally warming it up in many areas of the west. now, here's a look at the weather outside your world. >> new york city today, yesterday was cloudy most of the day. only saw a high of around 70. if that sun comes out, we could get in the mid to upper 70s. it's still pretty mild. and that rain that's in the middle of the country is slowly going to be there for the weekend. >> oh, no, say it isn't so. >> we've been spoiled. >> next news, a strange new business with blue suede shoes. plus, it is one thing to be a top businessman. but does it pay to be mean in

showb showbizness? >> coming up, a birthday wish comes true, an unprecedented suspension by the nfl and tebow-mania hits the big apple. you're watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." president obama is in oklahoma today to talk about his energy policy in speeding up the building of the co stone pipeline. over the weekend, the president will be in south korea and will visit the demilitarized zone between the north and south. in northwest africa, soldiers went on state tv to announce they've seized power. the militaries said a curfew was in effect but they intend to restore power to a new, democratically elected

government. the marine corps told the sergeant that he faces dismissal. stines started a facebook page called arms forces tea party to encourage others to exercise their free-speech rights. and former illinois governor's hair may quickly go grey in prison. his barb confessed that he's died his hair for years. he started a 14-year prison sentence last week where hair dye is not allowed. the dow opens at 13,124 after losing 45 points yesterday. the s&p was down two points, but the nasdaq was up one. taking a look at overseas trading, the nikkei gained 40 points while in hong kong, the hang seng added 44. markets were mostly flat yesterday.

but a warning out of china to spark some concerns on wall street. a preliminary report shows chinese manufacturing may contract for a fifth straight month. there's reports on the housing markets. overall, winter sales were the best in five years. h.p. was the biggest threat on the dow thanks to a merger. elsewhere, green mountain perked up 10% on word that starbucks will make the brewing system. general mills quarterly earnings were in line with expectations and safeway, food lion and supervalue have agreed to stop making ground beef with pink slime. this morning, austral yeah's government promised $300 million

to guarantee to continue making cars in that counweuntry for anr decade. kraft will be called mondalees meaning delicious world. finally, time is running out. if you want to get your hands on a few pieces of history. a white chiffon gown worn by princess di. elvis presley's blue suede shoes are both up for sale on line. the knicks seem perfect under their new coach. kobe bryant and the lakers get fancy. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. >> warm weather continues to be the big story across the country. your forecast is coming up. you're watching early today.

a very good morning to you. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, the unlikely story of tim tebow took another surprise twist yesterday with the self proclaimed christian ending up in, of all places, new york city. here's an early look at all of your sports headlines. >> good morning, we're in the middle of march madness.

everybody is talking about football. we're going to start with tim tebow. took an entire day. tebow is now a member of the new york jets. tebow will back up mark sanchez and will likely be used in a wildcat-type offense. news out of nfl commissioner dropped the hammer on the saints. suspended sean peyton for the entire season and former defensive coordinator indefinitely. the crush for cash program targeted key opposing players. the team denied everything and tried to cover it up. the gn and assistant coach were also suspended in multiple games. the organization was fined a half million bucks. if roger is trying to send a message, it's been heard loud and clear. basketball, one week, the knicks are ice cold. they are now red hot. they beat the sixers for their fifth in the row. and the knicks put it all

together 82-76. great finish between the hawks and the cavs. he got it at the buzzer and it was johnson again. not a buzzer beater, but just as important. a jumper for the lead. bucs won 103-102 in o.t. kobe bryant can still make plays like that. kobe played like an mvp last night. lakers beat the mavs 109-93. finally, he scored the game winner in overtime against the red wings. ironically, it's his 27th goal of the year and it came on his 27th birthday. calahan gets his birthday wish. that's your early look at sports today. i'm fred roggin. >> another hollywood baby on the way. and who is hanging with ashton?

your early morning entertainment headlines is straight ahead. >> the white house is praised by many distinguished guests. but yesterday's visitors had the secret service on their hands and knees. you're watching "early today."

here's what you need to know. definitely umbrella weather. especially alabama mississippi,

down along the coastal sections. during the afternoon hours, we'll see some of that rain trying to spread towards chicago. even oklahoma city. tomorrow, it looks like a really nice day in texas. we're going to dry it out and warm it up. still very warm in new england, but that rainfall continues in many areas of the ohio value. nbc 5 in chicago illinois, see rare footage of how they reversed the flow of the chicago river? and that's your early today event of the day. >> yeah, not an easy last name to say, but you did well. >> we like to give it our best. >> now, here's an early look at this morning's headlines and entertainment news. good news for a titan of tinsel town on her birthday. reese witherspoon expecting her third child. her first with her agedusband. she already has a 12-year-old

daughter and an 8-year-old son. elsewhere, rhianna paid a late-night visit to ashto ashton kutcher's bachelor pad. donald trump has been feuding with rosie o'donnell for a while now. so he jumped in to kick her down when she was down over her talk show and oprah's network being cancelled. last week, we tweeted i am so glad rosie got fired by oprah. rosie is a bully and it's always nice to see bullies go down. finally, the hype over the return of madmen yesterday in, of all places, wall street when the cavs stopped by the new york stock exchange. and this now comes to us from the white house where it is normally a very bad idea to try and get passed the fence without permission. unless, of course, you're a

mother duck. she and her ducklings were outside 1600 pennsylvania avenue when mom decided to get a little closer to the executive branch, her babies, yeah, her babies didn't know what to do until the secret service came to the rescue trying to -- they tried a ramp lifting the ducklings on to the north lawn. unfortunately, they didn't get to see the president because he was out for the day. >> and veronica de la cruz. this is the first stop today on your nbc station.

>> good morning, everyone. just like the last couple of days, we're starting out with low clouds and fog around the area this morning, so that may reduce the visibility just a little bit, but not much in the way of any rain. 59 in annapolis. 55 in taneytown. 62 degrees at the maryland science center. the forecast for today, we're going to start with fog early this morning and the clouds, and then we'll get sunshine to break through this afternoon. it's going to be a warm day with a high temperature near 76 degrees. when we come back, we'll look at the forecast through the weekend. >> tony, see you in a bit. 4:57, at degrees on tv hit. up next on 11 news today -- >> fed up with high water bills, residents voice their

concerns. i'm jennifer franciotti. details are next. >> republican presidential candidate mitt romney makes a stop here in maryland. details on his visit, straight ahead. >> i'm sarah caldwell taking a look at the commute. one accident on southbound 95, we'll update that and check for a water main break. when it comes to getting my family to eat breakfast, i could use all the help i can get. like nutella, a delicious hazelnut spread that's perfect on multigrain toast, even whole-wheat waffles, for a breakfast that my kids love and i feel good about serving. and nutella is made with simple, quality ingredients, like hazelnuts, skim milk, and a hint of cocoa. it's quick, easy and something everyone can agree on. ♪ nutella. breakfast never tasted this good.

[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] >> good morning, i'm mindy basara. >> and i'm stan stovall. >> you left the umbrella at home today. >> i don't think you need that, but there's still fog. we got wind setting up, and it develops the fog and low clouds. that will be with us again today to start the day. unlike yesterday, i think the clouds will break up enough for us to zoom into the 70's this afternoon. it's 57 at the airport right now with humidity at 100%. we do have some fogut