i think he's going to buy it all. promise just for you. right here, "mad money," i'm jim cramer. see you tomorrow. >> this morning on "early today" high court controversy. protests swirl as the supreme court considers the legality of a landmarked health care law. oops, he did it again. president obama explains comments picked up on an open mic. and unhinged. a run-away-vessel gives the term houseboat a whole new meaning. >> this is early today for tuesday, march 27th, 2012. >> hello and very good morning to you. today, we begin with the heart of the matter after it was essentially a warm-up, day two of the supreme court hearing,

we'll dig into one of the key components requiring nearly every american be insured by next year or pay a penalty. nbc has details. >> reporter: the supreme court show down on the obama mandate. >> it's a command. >> reporter: no disagreement about that. the bill the president signed requires almost all americans to buy health insurance by 2014 or pay a fine. 26 states sued. >> coming into federal court to challenge is unprecedented. obligation to buy a good or service that consumers don't want. >> reporter: a new survey finds two-thirds of americans want obama health care struck down. >> if we win on the individual mandate, obama care in totality will fall either legally or practically speaking. >> reporter: rick santorum showed up to blame obama for

pioneering in massachusetts. >> the institution of government rule over people's lives. >> reporter: obama supporters rallied saying his plan imposes fairness. >> we are a rich and prosperous nature. it is only morally right that a minimum level of health care should be a right and not a function of income for which job you have. >> all eyes will be on justice anthony kennedy. he could be the swing vote. i'm steve handles, nbc news, washington. >> as the parents of trayvon martin continue to call for justice in the killing of the unarmed teen, supporters offer new details on how the incident allegedly unfolded. nbc's jay green has more. >> reporter: a month after he was shot and killed, trayvon's parents. >> we're not asking for an eye for an eye. we're asking for justice. >> reporter: the community watch volunteer has been in hiding

since he fired the fatal shot. but now friends are coming to george zimmerman's defense sharing details they say police have not. they say martin initiated the confrontation, attacking zimmerman as he was walking away. >> from what i know, the bottom line is there was a life and death struggle in that instance and someone was going to die. >> reporter: adding to the confusion and emotion surrounding this case, confirmation that martin was separated from his father after being suspended from school when a baggy of marijuana residue was found in his backpack. >> first he killed my son and now they're trying to kill his reputation. >> reporter: what will not die is the out rage over the shooting. martin's parents will travel today for a congressional protest continuing what they call their search for justice for their sun. in sanford, florida. nbc news. >> president obama heads home

today after trying to clear up a controversy that started with an open microphone. the confers was picked up on an open mic. the president said he would have more room to negotiate over plans for a missile defense yield in europe after the 2012 election. today, after joking that the arms are such a complex issue, he didn't say that you can't start something so complex a few months before presidential elections in the u.s. mitt romney had called the president's comments an alarming and troubling development. romney called the russians our number one enemy, a position he later clarified. in new mexico, incredible video has just been made public after someone stole a school bus earlier this month. there were no kids on board, but plenty of danger as state police

chased the driver for more than 150 miles. the police car camera shows the bus swerving back and forth as officers tried to ram the back end. they were finally able to do so bringing the chase to an end and arresting the driver. in detroit, frightening moments for a man who was stabbed while on his cell phone. surveillance video shows a woman slashing the man's neck and then continuing to follow the victim while he tried to get help. the man survived an 8 inch wound. finally, forget about rough waters. a boat slammed right into a house in florida. a neighbor says it was being towed by a truck and broke loose and headed straight for the house. fortunately, the family living there wasn't home at the time. oh, my goodness. now, nbc meteorologist with the weather channel forecast.

>> you're going to have to check the fine print on the policy. run away boats. sorry. been denied. >> well, good morning, everyone. we are looking at one winter morning. and hopefully, that will be it. temperature change, compared to right now, to what we were at this time yesterday, the temperatures are about 15-25 degrees lower in many areas from the great lakes to new england to the mid atlantic. the highest 26 degrees colder this morning. so how cold is it? some of these spots are now dropping down into the teens. the big cities are in the 20s. you need the coat and the winter gloves. everything you can bundle the kids up with and yourselfment you'll have the heater on full blast when you get in the car this morning. there's a little bit of wind and that's making the windchill feel like 15 in albany.

in d.c. and cincinnati, they're not much better. the rest of the country, actually, is fairly mild. still holding onto that amazing spring warmth from the rockies. jinx just one little storm system going up here with some rain. and late today, we may get some thunderstorms near kansas city, st. louis and chicago. but it's not going to be widespread. even new england today will warm up eventually with a lot of sunshine. now here's the weather outside your window. >> after a very cold start, washington, d.c. does manage to get back up to 54 degrees and sunny. there won't be any wind at all, not like yesterday. i know we had those fires in colorado yesterday. it shouldn't be as windy today, but still very dry. so this is it. hopefully, the last time we'll be talking about windchills. >> it's always weird when you see those numbers on the map inversed from where they were yesterday. big ben on jobs, chinese

profits tumble and why nimble fingers and big business can go together. plus, was it payback for his nasty moments on stage? simon cowell faces a crazed intruder. his story next. >> coming up, the knicks lose two of their stars. was it a tie or really a loss? you're watching "early today."

a very good morning to you and welcome back. here are some of your top headlines this morning. american support for the war in afghanistan has dropped sharply. a new york times cbs poll found 69% of the u.s. should no longer be fighting in afghanistan. pope benedict is in cuba where he served mass for an estimated 2,000 people

emphasizing faith and family. the pope will also meet in havana with cuban president and island former leader. dominique has been given preliminary charges alleging that he was involved in a french prostitution ring, the former head of the international monetary fund is denying the charges. a year after japan's earthquake and tsunami, a 150 foot long fishing boat has drifted across the pacific ocean and is about a hundred miles off the coast of canada. and now here's a look at how wall street will kick off the day. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, the nikkei surged 230 points and in hong

kong, the nikke surged 378. a report on consumer confidence. stocks not only recover last week's losses and more, they're on track for the best quarter for stocks in 14 years. the improving job market is a welcome development and says the policy should help produce long term unemployment. she's prepared to let the bail out program run at the same time as the planned permit european bail out found. china's industrial company suffered a rare drop in profits of more than 5% in the first two months of the year. apple executive is in china to meet government officials in beijing as apple gets ready to extend its market there for the ipad and iphone. boeing has delivered two dream liners after a delay of almost three years because of production problems. an oil platform was released

yesterday. and aig says when it repays about $45 billion it still owes for its bail out, taxpayers will still make a 10-billion profit. many large corporations are using video game technology. so between games and smart phones, the next leader of smart phones may have some very fast finger reflexes. just an excuse to play video games. plus, the heat handing miami their second straight double digit loss. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. >> in a cool winter morning in new england won't last long. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

very good morning to you. if you're just waking up, this is early today in sports. the new york knicks managed a big win last night increasing their lead for the nba's eastern conference. here's fred with an early look.

>> stepped up when his team needed him the most, 28 points and 12 boards. knick knickss banged up. the bulls are shorthanded. and chicago looked lost without him. one of the best defensive teams in the league, but the nuggets had a shot. the heat lost their second game in as many days. time winding down in the first half. paul george threw up a prayer and it was answered. everything went right for the pacers. brandon knight flying into the crowd. but in the end, it was the wizards who were all washed up. less than a second to play, pistons down the wiz 79-77.

not every quarterback is tim teab. and he said all the right things. >> i'm so honored and humble to be a jet. i'm so thankful that they wanted me. i had the pleasure to meet quite a few already. and i'm very, very excited about it. >> when is a tie actually a loss? when it comes to olympic qualifiers. stoppage time against the u.s. m men's under 23 team. they'll be watching the games from home. >> a north carolina couple lives a treasure hunter's dream come true.

who would you cast to play this former first lady? the actress that was chosen has a vastly different political view than her husband. you're watching early today.

welcome back to early today. it's a good thing it's about lilt march. the sun angle is high enough that the daylight is long enough that you will warm up.

we will get up to the mid 40s and into the 50s. late today, some thunderstorms possible. and then tomorrow, some of that stormy weather will begin to arrive in areas of new england with some light rain. if you're watching us on whdh 7 news, see rare snapshots from the golden age of early photography with silver, salt and sunlight at the museum of fine art, boston. a little chilly, a good day to be inside at the art museum. >> exactly. here's a look at this morning's headlines and entertainment. good news for all of you ladies. the ones that are fans of "the hunger game" because technically, you still have got a shot. proposed to girlfriend mile miley cyrus, but cyrus shot down the rumors yesterday saying i only not engaged. i've worn this same ring on this finger since november. >> we just didn't notice, i

guess? >> put it on the other finger, then. >> bobby brown was arrested in california for suspicion of dui after he was pulled over. a 29-year-old woman was arrested for aggravated burglarly wielding a broken brick and shouting at him. >> i wonder if he critiqued her? >> cowell described it as something just like out of a horror movie. jane fonda will play first lady nancy reagan in an up-coming film about a long-time white house butler. considering playing lyndon johnson and john cusack playing the role of richard nixon. i could see that. no? no? no, you can't. >> nixon had some distinguishable features, it's going to be a lot of make up work. >> let's play my favorite game, who is going to play bill carens?

>> i don't know, probably a b-list actor. all right, this now comes to us from wncnc news channel 36. one couple made a discovery that might make their friends green with envy. they unearthed a 50 caret emerald. it's a little bigger than a nickel but could earn them a lot more than that. its estimated worth? $10,000. the pair had been at the mine for just five minutes when they came across the precious stone. back to that mine. >> yeah, more. >> five minutes. imagine what else is there? >> that other place is arkansas where you d go and dig for diamonds and stuff. you probably don't find much. >> this is "early today." this is your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

4:28 is our time now. we have 42 degrees here in the nation's capital. good morning to you, i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm eun yang. welcome to "news4 today" for this tuesday, march 27, 2012. we're following a developing story in northern virginia. extra police officers will be at a prince william county high school today in response to a threat of a gun. call alert went out to parents of students at potomac high school in dumfries. graffiti found on a bathroom stall friday indicated a student planned to bring a gun to school today. detectives say they're working to track down the source of the

threat. police are looking for a man who tried to snatch a 14-year-old girl. it happened near meadowland elementary school. the man ran when he was approached. fairfax police released a sketch of a man they say attacked a student last week who was walking home from woodson high school. the girl was dragged into the woods but managed to get away. a surveillance camera caught the man running down the street. police say he may be driving a white four-door honda accord. right now dozens are camped outside the supreme court hoping to watch the second day of oral arguments over the obama administration's health care law. yesterday the debate focused on whether the penalty for not buying health insurance amounts to a tax cut. taxes cannot be challenged until they actually take effect. the insurance penalty does not kick in until 2014. most justices appear to think it is not a tax cut.