our first amendment rights and we'll come back and say we're not going to have our rights aridge. >> reporter: protesters turned out to show sal darety, holding rallies in los angeles, portland. sparked by outrage over the economy and fueled by social media is now faced with the challenge of holding onto public

support beyond a day of protest. michelle franzen, nbc news. elsewhere, president obama is ushering in a significant change in u.s. foreign policy with myanmar, also known as burma. announcing secretary of state hillary clinton will travel to the southeast asian country next month. this is the first visit of its kind in more than 50 years. underscoring his commitment to human rights within the asia-pacific region, president obama acknowledged recent, quote, flickers of progress from myanmar's historically represses ive government. however, white house officials stress the move is only a first step toward diplomacy. the success of which determines on how willing myanmar's government is on the road to reform. a homeless idaho man suspected of firing shots at the white house has been charged with attempting to assassinate the president. according to newly filed court documents, 21-year-old oscar ortega hernandez was convinced

the federal government was conspireing against him and he nsidered president obama to be, quote, the anti-christ. investigators say ortega sat inside his car and fired off nine rounds at the white house with a semi-automatic rifle. if convicted, ortega could face life in prison. elsewhere this morning, republican presidential hopeful herman cain is now being guarded by secret service, making him the first 2012 gop candidate to receive such protection. sources tell nbc news, secret service protection for cain began last night at his contain's request. janet napolitano, along with congress, authorized that request. officials will not say whether a specific threat prompted the increase security. a brutal beating led to the firing of two new mexico police officers. the footage from last february shows the officers repeatedly

kicking and punching an alleged car thief after catching him in a parking lot. a special prosecutor is reviewing the case to decide if the fired offers will face criminal charges. highway traffic in south carolina came to a screeching halt after a sem high tractor trailer ran into a sign post. the impact of the collision brought an amber alert crashing down across the lanes of interstate 85. while the crash nearly ripped in half, the driver did survive. finally, all across the nation, die-hard fans of the trilight franchise flocked to theater. there were long lines of movie goers in boston, new jersey, kansas, with fans waiting to see how the forbidden love between a vampire and his human bride finally plays out. the film sold out more than 3,500 shows in canada and the u.s. online ahead of the movie's

midnight opening. now, for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist, bill karins. you're meeting me at the theater down the street. we're going to camp out. come on, we agreed on this. >> probably some people watching right now returning from the midnight showing. >> they need to call me and tell me everything because i know we're -- >> we should just say nice things about -- >> exactly. try the nice thing for a little bit. >> no. doesn't work. >> i went to the first movie and he's running up a tree. doesn't make sense. he lost me. let's take a look at the forecast on this friday as we head into weekend. temperatures have returned to normal. still chilly air but nothing too brutal. even northern plains that were cold are warm ther morning. windchills are below freezing everywhere in blue. a good chunk of the northern two-third of the nation is on the cool side. you need the winter coat, gloves, hat, for the kids, maybe yourself. still chill in in san antonio. cold front cleared president the

east coast with the exception of miami and the keys. we have stormy weather pattern. the pacific northwest will move through the rockies over the day tomorrow and tomorrow emerge in the plains. we have snow on the way for areas like nebraska and into south dakota and minnesota. it's not going to be a blockbuster event or anything. warm air is returning to the middle of the country. a very cool friday for the east coast and then that warm air from heartland will slide to the east. temperatures will warm up just about everywhere as we go through saturday and sunday. today, it's a bisque day but sunny and dry about everywhere. a little rain in miami and also snow in montana. again, a pretty decent friday. that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. philadelphia, pennsylvania, windchill this morning in the upper 20s, low 30s and we'll warm it up this afternoon at least. memphis, not a bad day for the middle of fall. temperatures around 60 degrees. phoenix, not bad at 75. so you're going to see the movie

this weekend? >> you're really going -- >> should i really believe you? >> what, because i'm not a 16-year-old screaming teenager -- >> you plan to wear your t-shirt that says i love -- >> i lose credibility. we probably shouldn't include it but we do, nonetheless. euro worry shifts to spain. angie makes her wall street debut and the car that roadway dreams are made of. you're early morning business headlines are straight ahead. one of hollywood's most famous may/december romances comes to a close. coming up, the flyers rally and tim tebow leads another mile high comeback. you're watching "early today."

good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry and here are some of your top headlines this morning. energy secretary faced hours of hostile questioning by house republicans thursday about a

half billion dollar federal loan that went to the now defunct southerly panel maker solyndra. to acknowledge, while regrettable, politics made no role in making the loan. syracuse university has placed associate head basketball coach on administrative leave after two former ball boys told espn they were molested by him for a period of more than 12 years. syracuse police say they have opened an investigation. there was a brief hijacking scare on a new york delta flight wednesday when the plane's captain accidentally locked himself in the lavatory. when a passenger with a foreign accent tried to alert the cockpit, the co-pilot became alarmed and notified air traffic controller. fighter jets were called off after the pilot radioed them about the misunderstanding. they have reopened the investigation of natalie wood.

homicide detectives say they've received new information and will hold a news conference later today. the army says it has tested a new weapon capable of traveling five times the speed of sound. the so-called advanced hypersonic weapon traveled from hawaii to an island some 2300 miles away in less than half an hour. well, now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,770 after losing 134 points yesterday. the s&p dipped 20 points. the nasdaq tumbled 51. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei fell 104 points while in hong kong the hang seng dropped 326. well, a sudden spike in spanish borrowing costs thursday fueled new concerns europe's debt crisis may be mushrooming pushing stocks lower for a second day. an auction of ten-year bonds left spain paying nearly 7% interest, the same rate which

forced greece and ireland to seek rescue loans from the european union. that rate makes interest payments on debt so high, governments can barely afford them. once again, euro concerns overshadowed good news here. last week jobless applicants fell to the lowest level in seven months. also, october home building fell less than expected. a gauge of future construction surged. still, another growing investor concern is the deadlocked congressional supercommittee. investors fear the consequences of huge automatic spending cuts, if there's notice agreement. earnings, net app plunged after forecasting below estimates. applied materials sank after warning current earnings would be weaker than expected. sears holdings fell after missing expectations. elsewhere, angie's list soared 25% on the company's first day of trade. with president obama visiting indonesia, lion air placed a massive $22 billion order for

boeing jets. the judge overseeing mf global's bankruptcy approved the release of over $500 million to customers whose accounts have been frozen since halloween. finally, this is st-1, danish makers will only produce 15 of them. three will be sold here in the u.s. 1250 horsepower 0 to 60 under three seconds. base price without extras, $1.8 million. get out the holiday list. coming, the national league picks its best arm. the flyers win a heart-stopper against the coyotes. plus, he's got everyone scratching their heads. tim tebow pulls off yet another upset win. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. finally we're done scratching our heads with our november weather pattern. back to normal. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, he's not particularly fast and his game is anything but pretty, but once again, tim tebow has led the broncos to an improbable victory. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. he may not be the best passer and he may not have the

strongest arm but there is one thing you cannot deny, at least at this time, tim tebow is a winner. here we go to denver. tough game for the jets' mark sanchez. didn't throw a touchdown unless of course you count this one to the other team. goodman with a pick six in the third that tied the game 10-10. jets took the lead with a field goal and tebow took over. drove the broncos the length of the field, capped off the longest drive of the season with a 20-yard touchdown run. denver took the lead with under a minute to play and john elway could not have been happier. tebow silencing his critics once again. he's won four games as a starter and the broncos captured the thriller 17-13. baseball, dodgers' clayton kershaw proved you don't need to be on a good team to win the cy young. the southpaw won the award. led in wins, strikeouts and e.r.a. hockey, the fathers of the pittsburgh penguins traveled with the team and something tells me they weren't too happy with their boys. the lightning scored four and had a shutout going into the

final minutes. seems like dads always get the short end of the stick. pat say jack on hand to watch the caps and jets. i would like to buy a vowel, eeld take "e" for evander cain, scoring a pair of goals. winnipeg was wheeling and dealing, beating the caps 4-1. i drama in philly. coyotes and flyers tied with 30 seconds to play. flyers harmlessly threw the puck on net. claude giroux took a swipe, matt read scored the rebounder with 19 seconds to play. flyers closed out the coyotes, and a report with a 2-1 win. super natural creatures get set to take a big bite at the box office this weekend. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, combines are usually reaping in the fields but we'll show you one reaping a different kind of crop. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. let me take you through your weekend forecast. if you're traveling on the eastern seaboard, no problems. travel in the middle of the country, especially the northern plains, one of of the watch, you'll see rain and snow especially toward saturday night and sunday. first off today, just chilly out there. the stormy weather out here from idaho to montana, up in wyoming. that's where we're getting snow, wind and also a little rain, depending on your elevation.

as we go into saturday, that's when we'll watch that storm system coming through the plains. minneapolis, a wintry mix for you. by the time we get to sunday, a little rain down there in tennessee. if you're watching us on wnbc 4 in new york, see artwork drawn from nature using straw, mud and other earthly goods. at sticks and stones. that's your "early today" event of the day. where do you get sticks and stones from -- >> in the bronx. exactly. central park. that's how it works here. here's an early look at headlines in entertainment. where there's smoke there's fire, demi moore announced she's ending her six-year marriage to ashton kutcher. rumors have recently swirled about the couple's relationship after several tabloid stories documenting cusp esh's alleged infidelity. the most poignant part of a statement released by moore, she says as a woman, mother and wife, there are certain vows i

hold sacred and it is in this spirit i have chosen to move forward with my life. elsewhere at the box office, the much-awaited debut of the twilight saga, "breaking down" is expected to cruise to the top spot with blockbuster earnings this weekend. expectations could push as high as $130 million. teen heart throb vampires and werewolves not your thing, bill? >> yeah. this is more up my alley. >> it will also be a big weekend for animated family "happy feet 2," and should take in at least $30 million in second place. bill, a little something for everyone. >> you watch humans changing into werewolves or smile and laugh and tap your feet. >> and take your little boy, yes. and this comes to us from kwqc 6 in davenport, iowa, where in nearby moline, illinois, is paying tribute to farmers and

fight hunger at the same time. john deere employees used over 300,000 cans to create a life-size replica of the f-series combine. the 170-ton sculpture should break the guinness world record for the largest structure made from canned goods. all those canned goods will be donated to a food bank where that sculpture is dismantled. it's good for the eyes and good for folks out there. i'm lynn berry and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

4:28 is the time right now. we have 37 degrees. yes, 37 degrees. it is cold out there this morning. good morning to you. i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm eun yang. welcome to "news 4 today" for this friday, november 18, 2011. new from overnight, an armed robbery on the university of maryland campus. police are now investigating the incident at cecil hall, which is a dorm on campus. no one was hurt. no word yet on any suspects. now to a slellideveloping s out of hollywood. homicide detectives reopened their investigation into the death of natalie wood. it's been nearly 30 years since she drowned in the waters off of southern california. wood died in 1989 after a night of partying with her husband robert wagner and christopher walken. police received new information. it had previously been known as an accident.

wood is known for her roles in "west side story" and "rebel without a cause." this morning another athletic department finds itself in the center of a sexual harassment allegation. this time it's a basketball coach. two boys say bernie fein assaulted them in the '50s. the school says it conducted its own investigation years ago. syracuse head coach jim boeheim issued a statement saying, i've known bernie for many years. had i seen or suspected anything, i would have taken action. bernie has my full support. meanwhile, more potential victims of penn state football coach jerry sandusky may be