somewhere, i'm jim cramer, see you monday! this morning on "early today," common ground? the president and his likely republican opponent agree on at least one issue. high seese blast. the u.s. coast guard scuttles an abandoned japanese ghost ship. martian mystery explained. stunning video shows a massive dust devil swirling across the red planet. >> this is "early today" for friday, april 6th, 2012. >> hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry and today we begin with jobs and politics. president obama signed a new law he hopes will "help put americans back to work." his republican rivals were

polishing their pitch to american voters and planning their next steps in the race for the white house. nbc's tracie potts joins us with more from washington, good morning. >> reporter: let's start in d.c. where the president signed that small business jobs act yesterday which he says will do a couple of things for business. it first of all helps startups get more money from different sources but also helps businesses go public. and that the president says will help them expand and hire more workers. they worked on this jointly with republicans. republicans say their next pitch will be a small business tax break. they're hoping to get the white house so back that. meantime, the campaign trail, mitt romney says if he were a member at augusta, he would open the club up to women. that has become an issue recently. the president agrees, according to the white house, that his personal opinion, the white house spokesman says, is that augusta should be -- the home of the masters should be open to women as well. and finally, rick santorum

meeting with conservatives to try to figure out what to do to help his ailing campaign. that meeting happened on thursday. and included some discussion of whether or not they should pressure newt gingrich to drop out. lynn? >> tracy pots there for us in washington, thank you. meanwhile the obama administration responded to an unusual request by an republican-appointed appeals court judge. while attorney general eric holder assured the judge that president obama respects the supreme court's power to rule on the constitutionality of the nation's laws, he also pointed out that judges have traditionally granted deference to acts of congress, presuming its laws comply with the constitution. in a direct and unusual challenge, judge jerry smith took issue with comments the president made earlier this week asking for clarification as to whether the president questioned the high court's power to invalidate acts of congress. the u.s. coast guard sank that ghost ship that was traveling across the pacific ocean after last year's tsunami

in japan. the 164-foot-long fishing vessel caught on fire after coast guard guns fired on it off the coast of alaska. the coast guard said they sank the ship because it posed an imminent threat to navigation in busy shipping lanes of the pacific. yesterday as the head coach of the nfl's new orleans saints and other team officials appealed harsh league penalties leveled against them for the team's bounty system, shocking new evidence surfaced of saints players being encouraged to injure others. an audio recording of former saints defensive coordinator greg williams was released by a documentary filmmaker. in a profanity-laced pregame speech williams specifically encourages players to target the knees of one player who suffered a recent injury and the head of another who recently suffered a concussion. williams, now the st. louis rams defensive coordinator, has been suspended indefinitely by the

league and is not appealing. now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. in new hampshire video shows a man attacking and robbing a woman, snatching her purse outside a walmart. the suspect should never have been on the streets to begin with because he was mistakenly released from prison last friday. since then police think he was involved in at least three robberies before being recaptured. in st. louis, an underground steam pipe burst, sending scalding clouds shooting into the air. the heat was so intense, it caused the pavement to just crumble. it also left downtown buildings without any heat. there's no word on why it happened. it only happens in hollywood or at least beverly hills. a pair of hikers got lost and had to call for help. turns out they weren't in any danger. in fact, they had stumbled into the backyard of movie director tyler perry.

not really that bad. hopefully they got to lay out in the sun. in kentucky the search is on for the bride who's missing her wedding dress. it was found on a farm a few days after last month's devastating tornado. it was still on the hanger, actually. the man who discovered it thought it might be a curtain, but he later realized it was a gown. he's gotten in touch with the woman who's trying to help people found their belongings lost in the twister. now for a look at your national and regional weather. >> that's in the strange category. >> it is, especially because it stayed on the hanger. looks like it wasn't that dirty. >> most people have them sealed up if you're going to keep your wedding dress. >> what did you do with your wedding dress, bill? >> under the bed. yesterday we were watching severe weather move into the southeast. all in all it wasn't that bad. we did see large hail, damaging winds, two reports of weak

tornados near the border of arkansas, boot of missouri, areas of western tennessee. it was kind of scattered about. we didn't get anything too organized. we saw a lot of the wind reports in areas of central alabama and hail. we did well. augusta, we got all the golf in yesterday. it rained a little bit late in the round but all the severe weather missed. that storm system is continuing to move, push off the coast. right now it's located pretty much over the upstate of south carolina. still got rain and chilly weather by hickory, charlotte, greenville. this will push through in morning. probably on and off showers throughout the first half of the day. by this afternoon it should be all right. so as far as the masters go in augusta, some showers over the next couple of hours. i think we'll easily get all the golf in during the day today. the other trouble spot, montana, snow is beginning to move in. this is a blizzard and winter storm here from butte to missoula to bozeman. feel bad for you. the rest of the country's chilly but looking at a fantastic afternoon. that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window.

nice day today in many areas. it's going to be a cold start today and tomorrow in areas of the great lakes, new england and the ohio valley. but the afternoon with the april sun is strong. temperatures really warming up. should be very enjoyable. i'm not going to give it an a-plus, but this weekend, make an "a." >> a-minus, even. also coming up, expectations on jobs. warm weather equals sunny sales arer and a run on encyclopedias? your early morning business headlines straight ahead. 13 years after "american pie," will interest in their high school reunion knock "the hunger games" off its perch? the nhl playoff picture gets a little clearer. the magic self-destruct. and the longest opening day baseball game ever.

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry and here are some of your top headlines this morning. more than 2,000 syrian refugees flooded across the border into turkey claiming government forces are bombarded at least a dozen northern towns and villages. france's foreign minister was the latest to express doubt about a u.n.-sponsored peace plan saying he thought president assad was "cheating us." victor boot the russian known as the merchant of death was sentenced to 25 years in prison yesterday in new york. he was convicted of trying to sell weapons to u.s. agents posing as colombian guerillas. a small town in wyoming has been sold at auction to a pair of vietnamese businessmen for $900,000. the town of buford has a gas station, a three-bedroom house and other buildings on about ten acres of land. quite a steal. england's queen elizabeth handed out what's called momby

money to some of her subjects including a coin marking 60 years on the throne. buckingham palace says the holy week tradition dates back to the 13th century. nasa has released amazing images of a gigantic dust storm on the planet mars. a camera in orbit around the red planet captured the dust devil with a plume that goes up 12 miles into the light atmosphere of mars. now here's an early look at how wall street finished up the day after trade on thursday. the dow closed at 13,060 after losing 14 points yesterday. the s&p was down a fraction. the nasdaq was up 12. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei lost 79 points. the hang seng fell 197. with the markets close today for the good friday and passover holidays, investors will have to wait until monday to react to the latest jobs report. when the labor department

releases the march data, economists are expecting that the economy added more than 200,000 jobs last month. the unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 8.3%. facebook has decided to be listed on the tech-heavy nasdaq for its initial public offering under the stock symbol sb. samsung reports booming sales of its galaxy smartphone as it posted a record quarterly profit of $5.5 billion. the warm weather was good for retailers with sales at the ga gap up 8% last month and target sales increasing more than 7%. as jcpenney stores try to turn its business around the company is laying off 900 workers in texas and pennsylvania. odwalla is recalling its chocolate monster beverage because customers with peanut allergies reports problems after drinking it. after encyclopedia britannica

said it was stopping its print edition sales have skyrocketed and almost all the last edition have been sold. robotic technology is being used to automatically transport and park vehicles in very tight spaces in germany. that's an understatement. volkswagen's theme park called car town features storage towers that hold 800 vehicles. a lot of people take the ride themselves or watch the machinery moving the cars around because it is pretty cool. coming up, the opening round of the masters. magic wobble and lose. two more stanley cup playoff spots are set. plus the longest opening day baseball game in major league history. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. in weather it's all about the easter egg hunt forecast coming up.

good morning. if you're just waking up this is "early today." and in sports, spring is here and baseball is officially back. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. spring is in the air and of course that means baseball. with the first pitching of the season.

roy halladay kept the pirates guessing for eight, allowed two hits and struck out five. phillies 11-0 in pittsburgh. tigers and red sox, top of the ninth. austin jackson poked a single past third and down the line for the game winner. tigers won 3-2. cubs haven't won a world series in 104 years and this is not the way they want to start a new season. tied with the national in this the ninth, ian desmond slapped an rbi single to right, in game the go-ahead run, nats won 2-1 in wrigley. blue jays rallied in the ninth against the indians. encarnacion tied the game 4-4. then in the 16th, j.p. put toronto on top for good. blue jays won the longest opening day game in history 7-4 in 16 innings. the first round of the masters, tiger woods is five strokes back. nba, derrick rose sat out his 12th straight game.

luol deng led a balanced attack against the celts. the magic are falling apart right before our eyes. yesterday afternoon coach stan van gundy told reporters dwooits howard wanted him fired. the magic were torched by the knicks. new york won 96-80. magic are reeling, they've dropped five in a row. they made a mid-season range. alex owe vehicle kin scored his 37th of the year. despite the loss, panthers are also in. their first playoff appearance in 12 years. that's your early look at sports on "early today." have a terrific weekend. i'm fred roggin. . a new entertainment power couple? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus traditional adversaries if not down right enemies. well, once in a while cats and

dogs do get along. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today" on this good friday. let me take you through your weekend forecast. we're looking fantastic on the eastern seaboard as we go throughout our saturday. maybe a sprinkle in miami. the middle of the country probably looks a lot worse than it is. we will get afternoon showers and thunderstorms especially in texas. the winter storms leaving

montana. late-day rain on the west coast. as far as easter sunday goes, most of the country looks really nice. just in texas late-afternoon storms. easter egg hunts, put on the sunday best, weather's going to cooperate. if you're watching us on wbal-tv 11 in baltimore, maryland, celebrate outdoors. bunny bonanzoo at the maryland zoo. what's better than a bounce house? >> nothing at all. here's your early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. the experts are divided over what's shaping up to be quite a contest at the box office this weekend. the two-time defending champ "the hunger games" has the edge with the experts picking it to finish number one once again with somewhere between $25 million and $30 million. the opener "american reunion" the fourth offering from the franchise that started with "american pie." the last of these raunchy comedies opened nine years ago

to $33 million. some experts see it finishing in the $25 million range, others have it over $30 million to finish on top. 15 years after its original opening "titanic 3d" could battle for the top spot once again if the others falter. it's expected to take in $20 million to $25 million. i can't believe it's been 15 years. that's frightening. finally, blogs are burning over kanye west and kim kardashian going on public dates together in new york city. once to the movies wednesday night and then to lunch on thursday. perhaps not coincidentally though there's a new single out yesterday where kanye west admits he fell for kim kardashian long ago. we call that just a coincidence. >> she can't do another pr stunt like that. >> what do you mean? what pr stunt? >> that 90-day event that she had that wasn't even 90 days. >> no, no. >> i'm not saying the wedding

was a sham. >> of course not. >> i wouldn't go on record with something like that. >> of course you're not. wbir 10 news in knoxville, tennessee. in nearby severeville, man's best friend has become a loving parent to wayward cats. an animal shelter took in three orphaned newborn kit.sthat needed to be bottle fed but the shelter decided to do a little experiment. they tried having a nursing mother dog take on the kittens. it worked. she nursed and cleaned those kittens and then a fourth brought in days later, and now they're all one big, happy family. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

and good friday morning. a live look outside. a clear sky to start your day. a little chilly out there. and may be like that for a little while. >> that's not good. >> often -- in the near future. tom will explain some more i hope. if i'm right. good morning, i'm aaron gilchrist. >> and i'm eun yang. welcome to "news4 today" for this friday, april 6, 2012. morning, just when thought the mega millions mystery could not get any more bizarre, it did. the baltimore woman who claims she has the winning ticket now says she holocaust it. she talked only to news4. she tells us she's stressed after making national headlines after claiming to have won the

mega millions jackpot. the controversy began because wilson was reportedly responsible for a mcdonald's employee pool of tickets in baltimore. wilson says the winner was not part of the pool. now she told news4 she can't find the winning ticket. >> reporter: are you going to claim the ticket? >> if i find it. >> reporter: did you lose the ticket? >> i misplaced it. >> reporter: you now have misplaced the ticket. >> i don't even know. >> wilson reportedly hid the ticket in the mcdonald's. maryland lottery officials say the ticket was bought at a 7-eleven. no one has claimed that ticket yet. whomever won has until september 28 to claim the cash. >> you know, this is getting beyond crazy at this point. there was disbelief to begin with. and now it's just -- it's getting silly. >> you know, and the stress a lot of people have said that she has brought the stress on herself. >> yeah. you step out to say, oh,