clean energy and west port, not knocking them. just understand they're really speculative situations. always a bull market somewhere. i'm jim cramer. see you tomorrow. this morning on "early today" george zimmerman is charged with the fatal shooting of trayvon martin. seeing red, a republican congressman claims house democrats are communists. and miracle baby, a couple find a newborn baby alive in a morgue, 12 hours after she was declared dead. captions paid for by nbc-universal television this is "early today" for thursday, april 12th, 2012. hello, good morning i'm lynn berry. today we begin with murder

charg charges. neighborhood watch volunteer george zimmerman is behind bars in florida this morning, facing a hearing later today on second-degree murder charges in the shooting death of unarmed teen trayvon martin. jay gray reports. >> reporter: after more than a month of where he might be, george zimmerman is behind bars in the seminole county jail. >> george zimmerman arrived here at approximately 8:24 p.m., being booked and processed now. >> reporter: 44 days after the neighborhood watch volunteer shot and killed trayvon martin, angela corey ended her investigation and is preparing for trial. >> today we filed an information charging george zimmerman with murder in the second degree. >> reporter: a decision martin's family, and thousands of supporters across the country have been demanding since his death. >> we simply wanted nothing

more, nothing less, we wanted an arrest. we got it. and i say thank you. >> reporter: after the announcement, zimmerman was moved from jacksonville to the jail in sanford where his new attorney plans to meet with him for the first time. >> this is a very good and focused defense, we will build him one. >> reporter: defense that will enter the plea in the case during the initial hearing. >> not guilty presently. >> reporter: martin's family is trying to figure out what is going on as well. struggling through the grief of losing their son, battling more than a month for an an rest and the fight will continue. >> this is just the beginning. we have a long way to go. >> reporter: the case moving in the legal system but clearly still being tried in the court of public opinion. jay gray, nbc news, sanford, florida. also the world is watching

north korea in anticipation of a controversial long-range rocket launch. the multi stage missile carrying a weather satellite is on the launch pad, ready for lift-off, in a window of the next several days. the japanese report quoting north korean sources says poor weather conditions are preventing the launch today. the u.s. and allies have urged the north not to launch arguing it would violate an agreement against missile testing. in syria, a cease fire seems to be taking hold. the deadline passed and there are no immediate reports of violence. opposition forces report the situation is calm at the start of the cease-fire but activists are saying they have not seen syrian army forces pulling back from the cities where the worst fighting occurred. u more than 9,000 people have been killed by syrian troops in the last year, it's estimated.

allen west, a tea party favorite, claims there are communists in the house. the comments were made at a town hall event in jensen beach, florida. west said around 80 members of the communist party are sitting in congress within the democratic party. west specifically singled out the congressional progressive caucus. in a joint statement, the co-chairs called the charges "outrageous." now here's a look at other stories making news "early today." cameras were rolling when thieves held up a new york setityset i -- city deli. they videotaped themselves. they did not take any merchandise or cash before escaping with the victim's cell phone. no arrests have been made. philadelphia police are looking for a thief who stopped and robbed a 94-year-old woman in broad daylight. surveillance cameras caught the suspect dragging the woman to

the ground as he ripped her purse away. the fall caused the victim to suffer a broken arm and multiple cuts. finally, the eruption of a massive brush fire forced new jersey officials to shut down a portion of a major highway. flames fueled kept firefighters busy for hours. it scorched about 60 acres before being brought under control. no injuries reported. now for a look at national weather, here is meterologist bill karins, the weather channel forecast. >> amazing pictures. that is the first time i've seen that. >> the combination of the dry conditions and gusty winds, that video is unbelievable. >> doesn't look like it will change, no wet weather for the eastern sea board through the weekend. only story is the cold temperature, freeze warnings in effect for almost all of the great lakes and all the way down through the ohio valley, even

the carolinas and tennessee, do have some freeze warnings in place. temperatures aren't that bad, outside of the cities, we could see a freeze that could damage some of the early growth we've seen this spring season. the freeze line right now coming down through wisconsin, dipping down in indiana, and a little spot in southern ohio. will probably make it as far south as louisville. we had a few severe weather reports yesterday. later today, a little more widespread, little more energy coming out of the west, anywhere from northern nebraska through texas, you have to watch out for severe storms. everyone in the east after a cool start should be a decent afternoon. as far as severe weather goes, this area of yellow is who is under a slight risk, oklahoma city, amarillo, down toward midland. best chances for tornadoes is going to be in southern kansas, all the way down to northern oklahoma, a few tornadoes, doesn't look like a big outbreak

today. the forecast, watch for thunderstorms in the middle in the country, also watching the cool, chilly temperatures in the ohio valley. that is the national forecast and here is the weather outside your window. areas like boston, hartford, providence through new england, one more day of these afternoon clouds and showers. i know we have been stuck in the cool weather pattern and breezy conditions the last couple days. i promise tomorrow will be a lot better. nothing too bad out there this morning, just more of the same. that makes your job easy. >> yes, it does. don't slack off. stocks rebound, the government goes after apple, and heart-breaking college acceptance blunders, early morning business headlines are straight ahead. the honor he's turning down in order to have nothing do with his former bandmates. the stanley cup playoffs begin with a walk off walk,

you're watching "early today."

good morning welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are top headlines. line miners have been rescued after six days trapped in an abandoned copper mine. they were able to walk out through a tunnel that rescuers had reinforced. the state legislature in connecticut voted to repeal the death penalty. the governor is expected to sign the law making connecticut the 17th state in the u.s. to end capital punishment. in california, convicted mass murderer charles manson was denied parole for the 12th time. the 77-year-old will not be eligible for parole again for 15 years, when he will be about 92 years old. in argentina, a mother fell to her knees in shock after finding her baby alive in a coffin in the morgue, 12 hours after she was declared dead.

the baby girl was born three months premature, doctors thought she was stillborn, the mother insisted on seeing her, found alive, now improving, being called a miracle baby. one of the top health headlines, a mystery virus similar to norovirus showing up in u.s. nursing homes. the sapovirus, thought to be rare, may be more common than thought and is on the rise in long-term care centers. it causes gastrointestinal symptoms. in the children, elderly or people with weakened immune system can lead to hospitalization or death. for more information on this and other stories, check out the health page at msnbc.com. "early today" health brought to you by vagisil screening kit. an early look how wall street will kick off. the dow opens at 12,805 after

adding 89 points. s&p up 10 points. overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei added 66 points. in hong kong the hang seng up 186. stocks snapped a five-day losing streak thanks to a strong start to the earning season. alcoa posted a surprise profit and encouraging outlook after the bell tuesday. that triggered a rebound led by stocks hardest hit during this week's slump, including bank of america, boeing and ge. the fed's beige book report found economicmarch continued to expand. goods imported in the u.s. are the highest level in a year last month. recent drilling boom has driven the price of natural gas below $2 a unit for the first time in more than a decade.

here in the u.s., the justice department is suing apple and two big book publishers on accusations they conspired to raise the cost of ebooks above the cost what executives referred to as the "wretched 9.99 price point." amazon, the alleged target, announced it will drop some ebook prices to 9.99 or less. a new report shows the number of homes receiving first time foreclosure notices rose 7% from february to march. however, foreclosure activity overall sank to the lowest level since july of 2007. finally, as if college application season isn't stressful enough. 900 applicants to ucla were led to be accepted only to find out an e-mail was a mistake and they are in fact still on the waiting list. that has to hurt. coming up, the knicks,

celtics win in overtime. two a's take one for the team. the flyers shoot past the penguins in a come from behind victory. "early today" sports headlines are straight ahead. looks like another day of wet weather in california, that will head in the middle of the nation. the forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning, if you're just waking up this is "early today." in sports, six of the top nhl teams faced off last night. beginning round one of the hockey's stanley cup playoffs. here is mario solis with an early look at the sports headlines. good morning, the stanley cup playoffs got off to a b listering start. the penguins and flyers. pens jumping out to an early lead. sidney crosby got the scoring started. danny briere and brayden schenn. jakub voracek pops in the rebound, flyers rally to take game one, 4-3 in ot.

to the west, predators with postseason debut to remember. scores two goals, nashville wins 3-2. vancouver, many think they are the toughest team in the playoffs. kings, jeff carter deflecting the puck, scores the game winner, kings win game one 4-2. nba, bucks and knicks, until the end, smith knocks down the rain maker, new york wins 111-107. if i asked you which team had the best record since the all star break, would you say the celtics? if so, you're right. they have been clicking on all cylinders, getting the win against the hawks, 88-86. a walk-off in the truest sense of the term. royals and a's. bases loaded. forces home the winning run and

that is the ball game, a walk off walk, oakland will trade bruises for win, 5-4 in 12. that is sports on "early today" i'm mario solis. is britney spears about to outdo jennifer lopez? the entertainment headlines are straight ahead. physical fitness may not be the first thing we think of with elephants. they get a workout, too. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today" on this thursday, if you're up in new england, you will see more showers this afternoon along with chilly temperatures. in the ohio valley, great lakes the sun will come out. a few strong thunderstorms late today, western nebraska, western kansas, also western portions of oklahoma and west texas. as far as friday, finally beautiful weather will arrive in the mid-atlantic and new england you'll love the sunshine for the weekend. if you're watching us on wvtn, alabama's 13 in birmingham, the impact of greek immigrants on the culture and cuisine, at the beyond barbeque and baklava at vulcan park museum. that is the early event of the day. here is an early look at headlines in entertainment. simon cowell's rating boost may come in the form of britney spears. she is close to inking a deal as

a judge on the show for $15 million. that is more than jennifer lopez reportedly makes on "american idol." reports had cowell trying to woo beyonce for $100 million a year. we didn't believe that. madonna's latest album notched biggest album debut of the year, but also just recorded the biggest second week drop for a number one album ever. marc anthony's break-up with jennifer lopez is official. he filed for divorce, he is seeking joint custody of their twins. finally h, there will be no axl rose or guns 'n roses reunion. rose has warned the hall not to induct him. is that axl rose? >> i don't know. >> since the band's angry 1996 split. rose has wanted nothing to do with the former members and made it clear today he still feels that way. >> guns 'n roses the only time i

ever waited online overnight to buy an album. >> did you wear a bandana? tell me you did. >> i did not. this comes to us from hawaii news, a change of address is helping the zoo's heaviest residents win a battle with the bulge. two elephants lost roughly 600 pounds combined after moving into a new habitat five months ago. zoo keepers sparked the weight loss by scattering food, that forced them to walk around the one-and-a-half acre enclosure. they will shed 3% of their body weight and officials are happy the health kick is working. i'm lynn berry this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on nyour nbc station.

a live look outside to see clear skies and chilly temperatures across the metro region this morning. good morning. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> and i'm eun yang. welcome to this thursday, april 12, 2012. today for the first time it will get its day in a court of law. initial hearing in the case against george zimmerman will take place this afternoon. the neighborhood watch captain was charged with second-degree murder 45 days after shooting and killing 17-year-old trayvon martin. the stand your ground law that

has kept him out of jail could become his central defense. >> mr. zimmerman needs a good and focused defense, so we're going to build him one. we plead not guilty until we figure out what's going on. >> if convicted, he could face life in prison. >> trayvon's parents watched right from washington as the special prosecutor announced the charges. sybrina fulton and tracy martin watched. they're remaining calm and allowing it to play out in court. >> i'm feeling at peace knowing zimmerman's off the street and can't do this to someone else's kid. >> we're not promoting violence with violence. >>