i like to say there is always a bull market somewhere, and i promise to try to find it just for you right here on "mad money." i'm jim cramer. see you tomorrow. . this morning on "early today," diplomatic flip-flop. chinese activist who decided to leave the u.s. embassy now fears for his life. burning issue, a new jersey woman answers charges after allegedly taking her 5-year-old in a tanning booth. and shock value. an original version of "the scream" smashes art sales records. captions paid for by nbc-universal television this is "early today" for thursday, may 3rd, 2012. hello, good morning i'm lynn berry. today we begin with switching

gears. blind chinese dissident chen guangcheng changed his mind after leaving the u.s. embassy yesterday, he wants to leave beijing and is appealing for the u.s. to step in to save his family. nbc's ian williams reports from beijing. >> reporter: chen was brought to the hospital by the u.s. ambassad ambassador. officials say he left the u.s. embassy voluntarily, after six days. preparing to stay in china after assurances from the chinese authorities about his safety. they said he never once asked for asylum, one official said chinese authorities assured chen he wouldn't be mistreated. and his allegations of abuse would be investigated. they promised a new home and university job. but hours later, with u.s. officials gone, chen apparently had a dramatic change of heart. in an emotional interview with nbc news, he left the beam see

because of threat to his family and asked the u.s. to take concrete steps to guarantee his safety and said he now wanted to leave china. hillary clinton, in china, said the deal reflected clean's choices and americans values. she hoped to prevent the issue from overshadowing high level talks thursday, which it now surely will. u.s. officials promised to closely monitor chen's treatment for years, if necessary. but he's no longer under diplomatic protection. china's angry and embarrassed, demanding an apology and for chen, leaving the country now may no longer be an option. ian williams, nbc news, beijing. secretary of state hillary clinton pointedly called on dma to protect human rights. in her speech today, opening talks with officials in beijing. she said the u.s. believes that "no state can legitimately deny the universal rights that belong to every human being or punish those who exercise them."

quoting president obama, clinton promised to protect the citizens rights will be a stronger partner for the u.s. in politics, newt gingrich ended his bid for the republican presidential nomination yesterday and front-runner mitt romney is expected more good news today with an expected endorsement from former rival michelle bachmann. >> reporter: he has to consolidate support among fellow republicans. as mitt romney rolled in republican national committee headquarters in washington, his party was closing ranks behind him. >> americans are tired of being tired of this economy and of this president and want real change. >> reporter: today expected to pick up endorsement of former candidate michele bachmann and is appearing with one of the purported short list vice presidential candidates,

virginiaovernor bob mcdonnell. newt gingrich suspected his campaign and declared romney conservative enough. >> this is a choice between mitt romney and the most radical leftist president in american history. >> reporter: while gingrich is out of the way he's leaving behind attacks being picked up by the obama campaign. >> are you calling mitt romney a liar? >> yes. i don't know of any american president that had a swiss bank account. >> reporter: attacks should echo in the fall election. as the race for the white house gets busy. romney has to spend the rest of the season not only shoring up support but building a campaign war chest to compete with president obama. lynn? brian mooar, thank you. now here is a look at other stories making news, "early today" in america. a police officer was nearly killed in the line of duty after being shot during a traffic stop. the officer was able to return

fire but the suspect did escape. the manhunt came to an end when the gunman killed himself after police surrounded him. the injured officer is recovering. a phoenix home is damaged when the helicopter crashed through the roof. two men were treated at a trauma center. investigators are look into the cause. a new jersey mom pleaded not guilty to child endangerment. the mother admits to tanning 20 times a month, has vehemently denied her child to tan during one of her visits. she claims normal sunburn caused the injury. she is free on $2500 bond. finally, one north dakota homeowner is turning his home in a land mark with polka dots. city hall officials call the paint job an eyesore.

the retired painter began the project after a deal to sell his home through the city fell through, he now wants $150,000 to sell the home. that is one way of doing it. five-year-old degree. for a look at national weather, here is bill karins with the weather channel forecast. >> takes effort, perfect circles. >> cut-outs, i'm sure. >> good morning, millions of people were woken up in the middle of the night not by their clocks but thunder. we have a lot of thunderstorms out there this morning, we're tracking the worst through areas of eastern nebraska, now in iowa, omaha you had thunderstorms go through, lincoln, southward, very strong storms. over 6,000 lightning hit, this will travel through des moines and ames in the next hour or two hours. a ton of thunderstorms in central portions of wisconsin, northern michigan, a lot of thunderstorm action for you. milwaukee to chicago you're safe, this line of storms from

minneapolis northward will be crossing shortly in wisconsin. then, 2:00 a.m., the strong thunderstorms went through new york city with lightning, those have weakened, a few south of philadelphia, trying to approach washington, d.c. and areas near baltimore but weakened significantly thankfully to light rain. later today more severe thunderstorms likely, chicago to milwauk milwaukee, a cycle day after day getting nocturnal thunderstorms in the northern plains. that is a look at the national forecast now here is the weather outside your window. detroit, michigan you will be okay for your morning drive, but later today in tonight, another chance of -- another round of thunderstorms. also we had a lot of heavy rain by mobile, alabama with flooding with a storm system near the gulf. maybe showers down there again. we'll update the forecast coming up. thanks, bill. also coming up stocks sag on

jobs. green mountain coffee crumbles, the latest out rainous airlines phase. the business headlines are straight ahead. plus story behind the styling job that left cameron diaz in tears. coming up a tragic ending for an nfl legend, no hitter and triple overtime between rangers and capitals. you're watching "early today."

good noorng well caulk back to "early today." i'm lynn berry here are top headlines. jon edwards daughter, kate, left his trial in tears during emotional testimony. a former advisored how the late elizabeth edwards confronted her husband are a news broke that he was cheating on her. a college student suing the drug enforcement agency for $20 million after he spent four days

in jail without food, water or toilet facilities. the dea apologized saying they forgot about him. 13 people are now facing hazing charges in connection with the death of a famu drum major, who authorities say was beaten by fellow members of the marching band. federal agents railed pharmacies and health offices yesterday in a crackdown on scams that cost taxpayers more than $450 million. more than 100 doctors, nurses and social workers have been charged with medicare fraud. the fame us edvard munch painting "the scream" sold at a record price yesterday. it brought in more than $119 million from an anonymous buyer. unreal. an early look how wall street will kick off the day. dow opens at 13,26th 8 after losing 10 points yesterday. s&p down 3 points, but the

nasdaq up 9. looking at overseas trading, in tokyo the nikkei added 29d points. the hang seng lost 59. familiar fears about the nation's number one economic concern, rears their ugly head just. news the private sector added fewer jobs than expected last month took a toll on stocks and dashed investors hopes. traders overlooked good news out of the home building sector which hit a four year high on hopes of washington setting a preds dent on for giving mortgage principle. chesapeake energy plunged 15% on the quarterly earnings. news it's soon to be replaced ceo was running a $200 hedge fund on the side that traded in the same commodities cheese peak produces. green mountain coffee crashed 40%. the company slashed sales forecast on dwindling demand for

k-cup coffee refills. american eagle soared 16% after raising the profit forecast. energizer holding surged 9% thanks to higher shals of schick razors. news corp directors are standing by their bhan a vote of confidence in rupert murdoch after an english committee found him unfit to run the country. target confirmed it's phasing out amazon's kindle e-readers. when is a discount airline no longer a good deal? this may be the start. beginning this fall, spirit airlines customers who decide to put a carry on in the overhead bin at the gate will pay a whopping $100 each way. yes, you did not mishear me. that is correct. the angels no-hit the twins. the rangers win in triple overtime. and dark day for the nfl. plus the grizzlies slam the

clippers in game two of the nba playoff match-up. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. in weather, thunderstorms once again the story, this afternoon strong thunderstorms even in the great lakes. your forecast is coming up you're watching "early today."

good morning, if you're just

waking up this is "early today." in sports after losing sleep over blowing a 27-point lead in the series opener, with the clippers, a win last night by memphis left them looking forward to some good rest. here is nbc's fred roggin with an early look at sports headlines. good morning, it was a busy day in sports, let's get to it. in memphis the clippers pulled off historic comeback in game one the grizzlies won't let it happen again. stemmed up the defense, forced 21 turnovers that was the difference. memphis evened the series with a 105-98 win. the spurs are the most efficient, seven players scored in double digits, san antonio handed utah the worst loss in playoff history. after dropping the first game of the sears ease the pacers outplayed the magic, built a 29 point lead, won it 94-74. hockey, rangers and caps

needed not one, not two but three overtime periods in washington. after playing 115 minutes, marion gaborik ended it. rangers won 2-1 in triple ot. in detroit, they throw octopi, nothing fishy how the predators played. that beat the coyotes, 2-0. tragic news out of california, nfl legend junior seau found dead yesterday. according to reports the all pro linebacker was discovered with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. he was an all american at usc, played 20 seasons with the charges. emotional leader, he played with an intensity and swagger made him one of the greatest linebackers to play the game. juni junior seau was 43 years old. the league has suspended four players a total 361 games. jonathan vilma will miss the entire season. the best for les.

jered weaver unhittable, walked one, struck out nine. the final out of the game and there you go, a no-hitter for jered weather. angels won 9-0. that is the early look at sports to "early today" i'm fred roggin. charlie sheen is worried about his reputation? the early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. the jungle's roughest predator attacks a child. we're slightly ex-ager rating. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." here is what you need to know weather-wise as you head out the door for your morning routine, watching a line of strong thunderstorms heading for des moines and ames area. strong thunderstorms toward green bay and northern michigan where the worst of the wet weather is. as we go through the afternoon we will see additional strong storms late today and tonight, chicago, kansas city, and just north of st. louis. tomorrow we could see very strong thunderstorms in areas like new york city down to d.c. that is for friday afternoon. if you're watching us on wbre tv, examine the honey bee through the lens of an electron microscope at beeyond, at everhart museum. that is the early today event.

to infinity and beeyond. >> here is an early look at headlines in entertainment. would you let a friend cut your hair? >> no. >> what if you were a big movie star. >> no, no. >> cameron diaz always has but told jay leno when she had the latest short cut due to a misunderstanding, she burst into tears. she later comforted her friend, assuring her she wouldn't kill her. on line comedy this featuring ashton kutcher portraying a bollywood producer looking for love through a fictitious dating site have been pulled after viewers called the racist. egged on by the kiss cam, david beckham, who turned 37 yesterday, gave victoria a little smooch. on the eve of the agingers opening, scare lat johansen got

the walk of fame. >> she is your favorite. >> shar lee sheen is unamused a new york city strip club opened a charlie sheen vip room. >> wow. >> his lawyers got a cease and desist order, saying the despicable parasites have not been exterminated. i don't know how he said it with a straight face. >> we didn't. portland, oregon one zoo visitor survives an incredible encount we are one of the park's fierciest animals. an infant dressed -- the big cat launched in a frenzy to turn the boy in the next meal, despite a thick partition. the boy's parents encouraged the toddler to interact with the beast and he was unphased by the face time. i'm lynn berry this is "early today," your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

centering pass, scores. it's gaborik. >> there are a lot of tired and depressed cap fans weakings up this morning. we'll have much more on the caps' marathon finish throughout the morning. good morning to you. i'm eun yang. >> and good morning.

i'm aaron gilchrist. >> right now. good morning i'm watching a serious crash on the beltway as you approach 450. right now it's blocking two of your lanes. right now use caution. for now your two right lanes are blocked and you are able to get by by sticking to the left side. also this morning if you're making your way on the outer loop at robinson terminal, that looks to be up, that's good news. northbound by king, still have the rate lane blocked by construction. stick to the left to the 14th street bridge. i'm back in a little while on the accident at the loop. new this morning d.c. police looking for a person who stabbed two people in southeast washington. this happened along 27th street. we're told a man and a woman were stabbed. both victims were taken to the hospital. the man is expected to