. >>> and berry benefit. eating berries appears to keep you sharper as you get older. >>> this is the "cbs morning news" for thursday, april 26, 2012. >>> and, good morning, thanks for joining us, i'm michelle miller. we begin with the secret service prostitution scandal and a report that the alleged incident in colombia may not be an isolated case. cbs's seattle station reports an that a secret service advance team went to a strip club in el salvador prior to the president's trip there in march 2011. the source is a u.s. government subcontractor who works with the agents. he alleges the agents took prostitutes back to their hotel room and told him not to worry, they did this all the time. meanwhile on capitol hill, lawmakers are investigating the military's role in the scandal. susan mcginnis in washington with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, michelle. first hearing on this scandal took place here on wenesday and the military's role was a big focus as was possible misconduct by the president's

try the berries. dan harris, abc news, new york. >>> and coming up, ann romney and her health scare. >> i start to almost lose my words. i almost can't think, and i thought, oh, no, big trouble. spring has sprung but so have my allergies. nighttime is the worst. i can't breathe and forget sleeping. good mornings? not likely! i've tried the pills the sprays even some home remedies. then i tried something new. [ male announcer ] drug-free breathe right nasal strips. [ woman ] you just put it on and ... amazing! instant relief. i breathed better slept better. and woke up ready to face a fresh new day. [ male announcer ] get 2 free strips at breatheright.com. it's my right.... to breathe right! uh, trouble with a car insurance claim. ah, claim trouble. [ dennis ] you should just switch to allstate, and get their new claim satisfaction guarantee. hey, he's right man. [ dennis ] only allstate puts their money where their mouth is. yup. [ dennis ] claim service so good, it's guaranteed. [ foreman ] so i can

i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today." just your first stop of the day today on your nbc stations. >>> a german gardner will have east every -- easter egg hunter jaws dropping. for 50 years, the craft family has decked their tree with 10,000 easter eggs. visitors travel from near and far to view the ornaments and can purchase a decorated egg for themselves. although the tree has reached capacity, the family does hope to keep the tradition alive for generations to come. >>> zoo keepers in scotland are playing matchmaker with two giant pandas. the two 8-year-old animals are being encouraged to mate for the very first time, a feat that may not prove so simple as female giant pandas are fertile for only two to three days a year. well, keepers have opened a love tunnel between the pair's enclosures and turned off the online panda cam in hopes that privacy will set the mood. go with it, bill. >>> finally, would you pay millions for this? a simple small bowl fetched over $26 million at auction in china. that's right. it's the ult

i'm lynn berry. today we begin with spring snow. winter is making a comeback as a powerful nor'easter, bringing snow to parts of the country as well as heavy rain and the danger of flooding. nbc meteorologist bill karins is here with the bee tails on this latest historic weather. bill, good morning. now we know where summer went -- or where winter went. i thought summer was coming. >> the crazy thing some of these areas saw snow in october, near halloween. they are now dealing with a snowstorm after being 80 to 90 degrees in the month of march. the storm located over northern new jersey. we have the much-needed rain the east coast desperately need because of drought conditions. the snow is the big story, the leaves are on the trees. we're concerned about power outages and maybe potentially this knocking down significant trees in areas from buffalo to pittsburgh. those cities themselves will probably only get a couple inches, buffalo 3 to 6, pittsburgh 1 to 3. the heavier snow totals south of buffalo

>> reporter: jim, there was a lot of anger here today and some disappointment over berry's remarks. marion berry's remarks about filipino nurses taking too many jobs and weeks ago dirty asian stores, prompted criticism at his budget hearing thursday, none more heart female than david chung. >> my father is a dirty store owner you were speaking about. i worked with him every day in the sum earned weekends. spends 12 do 13 hours a day there. i'm a big fan of marion berry, i watched your story throughout the years, watched the hbo special, great american story, rise, fall and rise again. when you made those statements you broke my heart. >> community worker rosetta lei, leader of a self help group. >> you are teaching them statements demonnize a specific class of people. >> berry repeatedly cited his own civil rights record and blamed the media for exaggerating his remarks. >> i found that there are a group of you reporters who are determined to divide us. but i'm not going to fall for this divisiveness and the back and forth, et cetera. >> reporter: on monday, berry told a budget hear

i'm lynn berry. today we begin with an american original. dick clark died of a heart attack at age 82, after a television career spanning more than 60 years. the man once known as the nation's oldest teenager created "american bandstand" in 1956 and also started new year's rockin' eve in 1972. stephanie stanton has more on the life of this tv legend. >> reporter: the record has >> reporter: fans paid tribute to this american icon. >> new year's eve will never be the same. miss a big icon. >> words of praise from ryan seacrest who opened "american idol" by honoring clark. >> i know he's in a better place. saying "hey, let's get with the show, okay ?" you got it boss. >> reporter: he got his start as a teen on radio and he hosted "american bandstand" that hosted african american and white artists. >> he was on the cutting edge of what was new and happening now. >> reporter: in 1972, clark created new year's rocking eve and hosted the annual event until a stroke sidelined him in 2004. in 2006 he made a

i'm lynn berry. today we begin with a suspenseful wait. florida's special prosecutor in the trayvon martin case says within the next 72 hours, she will release new information from her investigation. it is her job to decide whether george zimmerman will face charges in the february shooting death of the unarmed black teenager. whatever happens zimmerman will be needing new lawyers. nbc's jay gray reports. >> reporter: like so much in this case. >> good afternoon. >> reporter: the announcement was sudden and jarring. >> we've lost contact with him. up to this point, we've had contact every day. he's gone on his own. i'm not sure what he's doing or who he's talking to. at this point we're with drawing as counsel. >> reporter: the now former attorneys for george zimmerman say they don't know where he is, haven't talked to him in days and are worried. >> not doing well emotionally. probably suffering from posttraumatic stress syndrome. we're concerned for his emotional and physical safety. >> reporter: a

i'm lynn berry. today we begin with the romney rout. mitt romney made a big move toward winning the republican nomination last night notching five primary victories. nbc's brian mooar reports. >> reporter: if there were any doubts mitt romney was going to be the republican nominee, he erased them tuesday night with a clean sweep in connecticut, delaware, new york, pennsylvania and rhode island. >> i can say with confidence and gratitude that you have given me a great honor and solemn responsibility. and together, we are going to win on november 6th. >>> rick santorum who dropped out earlier this month, stopped just short of endorsing romney on cnn. >> it's very clear that he's going to be the republican nominee, and i'm going to be for the republican nominee. >> newt gingrich didn't drop out, but tipped his hat to romney. >> it's a night he has worked hard for, for six year, and that if he does end up as the nominee, i think every conservative in this country has to be committed to defeating barack o

i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station. >>> we begin with breaking news. the man accused of shooting trayvon martin is a free man after posting $150,000 bail. no word on where he's going. it's being kept secret for his safety. a live report coming up in mints. >>> good morning, everyone, thanks for joining us, i'm angie goff in for eun yang. >> and i'm in for aaron gilchrist. they both have the day off. welcome to "news4 today" on this wet and chilly april 23. we have a lot going on including breaking news on the roads. the outer loop of the beltway in silver spring is closed due to a serious accident. >> it happened between colesville road and georgia avenue. we want to check in with matt to find out the latest. a real mess, matt. >> reporter: at this point, everything remains shut down on the outer loop. it is past colesville road, 29, a double tractor-trailer there. it looks like this is going to be with us for a while. you can jump off on

i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station. >> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning. we had a good soaking rain on sunday. we will jump back into the winter theme on this monday. we still have some light rain into the western suburbs. the heavy rain is gone. drizzle and light rain showers expected and maybe some snow flakes expected this afternoon. 39 in westminster. it is breezy sold feels even colder than that. off and on rain or snow showers. >> what? >> high temperatures only in the 40's. i said snow showers. >> that is the story. 43 degrees on tv hill. >> the man charged with killing trayvon martin is out of jail this morning. details on his bail. >> to brothers are said to go on trial for the beating of a teenager. >> hearings on the secret service prostitution scandal. >> there is an accident in bel air. air. we will check on the major [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned

i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day on your nbc station. >>> a royal display has parisians gushing. one of the most oldest diamonds has hit the auction floor. weighing in at almost 35 carats, the sparkling gem has a value of up to almost $4 million. understandably out of most people's price range. the diamond will be on display until the auction next month. >>> one group of scientists documented what could be the first-ever sighting of an all white adult orca whale. nicknamed iceberg, he's at least 15 years old judging by the size of its fin. scientists speculate the whale could be an albino but would require further tests to confirm the theory. >>> russians are ready to say good-bye to winter but not before having a little fun. skiers made some downhill run by slipping through a 66-foot puddle of water. why not, right? wearing interesting costumes, 100 alpine skiers went for the challenge ending up in the pool. the bikini, not going to happen. >> the bikini skiing,

i'm lynn berry. today we begin with failure to launch. north korea's controversial long range rocket broke up into pieces over the yellow sea two minutes after it left the launch pad. the white house called it a defiant move and provocative action that violates regional security and international law. the u.n. security council will meet today to consider additional sanctions against north korea. richard engel filed this report from pyongyang shortly after the failed launch. >> reporter: this is an enormous embarrassment for the north korean government. officials have not made any kind of comment at all. they have assembled journalists in this country, about 100 reporters brought into north korea. we were expecting to see a live video feed of this launch. instead we were told by officials in washington and reports from south korea and japan that not only had the launch taken place but that it had failed. >> translator: this flying object flew for about one minute before seemingly falling into the yellow sea. >> reporter: we are told we wil

i'm lynn berry. today we begin with a strategic move. a special prosecutor investigating the killing of unarmed florida teen trayvon martin has decided not to use a grand jury to decide whether his confessed killer, george zimmerman will face criminal charges. that decision will now be in her hands alone. nbc's jay gray has more. >> reporter: a handful of protesters, most of them students, marched to the sanford police department, blocking the front doors and for a short time actually closing the office down. as the protest over the trayvon martin shooting continues, special prosecutor angela corey announced she alone would determine if charges would be filed in the controversial case. she spoke briefly by phone with the protesters. >> she didn't give us much details but sort of seemed to hint that something would be coming very shortly so we're very excited by that. >> reporter: in a brief written statement, corey said she would not present evidence to a grand jury but the investigation would contin

i'm lynn berry. today we begin with a growing sex scandal. u.s. government investigators are in columbia trying to piece together exactly what happened there when as many as 20 alleged prostitutes were signed into the hotel rooms of president obama's secret service and advance military team. nbc's tracie potts has the latest for us from washington. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lynn. they are looking in the backgrounds of the women, including interviewing them, making sure they had no ties with terror groups or foreign intelligence. we now know in addition to the 11 secret service agents involved, the military included soldiers, sailors and airmen. back here on capitol hill, lawmakers are concerned that maybe this isn't the first time it's happened because there were so many people involved. but others are reluctant to indict the agency overall until the investigation is over. secret service director mark sullivan has been here on the hill. he'll be back this week to brief lawmakers, the white house spokesman says, the president

i'm lynn berry.hanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today, on your nbc station. have a good one.

i'm lynn berry. today we begin with murder charges. after weeks of growing controversy neighborhood watch volunteer george zimmerman is behind bars in florida this morning. he's facing a hearing later today on second-degree murder charges. the shooting death of unarmed black teenager trayvon martin. we are live in sanford, florida for the very latest. jeff, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, lynn. just after the special prosecutor in this case made the announcement of the charges, there was an appeal by the mayor of sanford, florida for calm but there's a strong sense of relief now that george zimmerman is under arrest and charged with second-degree murder. after more than a month of speculation about where he might be, this morning we know that george zimmerman is here, behind bars in the seminole county jail, 44 days after the neighborhood watch volunteer shot and killed 17-year-old trayvon martin. special prosecutor angela corey has ended her investigation and is now preparing for a t

captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> hello and good morning, i'm lynn berry. welcome to our viewers across the nation. today we begin with a triple threat. republican frontrunner mitt romney is hoping to win big in today's triple-header, wisconsin, maryland and the nation's capital. but romney's rivals say even a clean sweep won't knock him out of the presidential race. tracie potts has more from washington. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. good morning, everyone. newt gingrich and rick santorum are promising to stay in the rate until the end. gingrich is $1.5 million in debt and sort of joked about that yesterday when asked, saying he'd be glad for anyone to support him to get him out of debt. rick santorum who has been the closest competitor to mitt romney has continually and again yesterday brought up the fact that he is facing, as he calls it a money machine. romney has poured twice as much money into the campaign as anyone else, but now he's turning his focus to president obama, attacking him yesterday on immigration wisconsin. he's ahead

i'm lynn berry. today we begin with poll positions. the latest polls find that the point president obama is ahead of presumptive republican candidate mitt romney in a head-to-head match-up. mitt romney is in a strong enough position to make it a close election. nbc news political director and nbc correspondent chuck todd reports. >> reporter: thanks to large leads among women, hispanics and even independents, the president begins with a 49-43 advantage over mitt romney. but it's a six-point margin that is by no means insurmountable. the good news for mr. obama is how his standing today compares with other incumbent presidents seeking reelection. his 49-46 job rating is almost identical to where george w. bush was in 2004. it's a tad lower than bill clinton in 1996, but much better than the last president to lose election, george h.w. bush in 1992. the president also benefits from being viewed to be more likeable than romney and the candidate more in touch with the middle class. this likability gap is

i'm lynn berry. here's some of the top stories.erful 8.9 earthquake that bill was just talking about has struck this morning roughly 300 miles southwest of indonesia's banda aceh, a city devastated by an earthquake-triggered tsunami in 2004 that killed over 260,000 people. a tsunami watch is now in effect for the entire indian ocean area. >>> north korea is loading fuel into a long-range rocket that they plan to launch in orbit. the u.s. is urging the mission be cancelled because of the ban on missile tests. >>> syrian troops continued attacks on opposition forces yesterday. but kofi annan insists syria will respect the cease-fire. they say they will respect it starting tomorrow. u.s. secretary of state, hillary clinton, says syria is now becoming a regional security issue. >>> the maryland winners of part of the giant mega millions jackpot came forward to accept their big check for $218 million, but they kept their faces hidden and they wore gloves. the trio, a man and two women who work in public schools, call themselves the thre

berry, reverend berry lynn, americans united for separation of church and state, au.org is the website >> so glad you are there. i will be back. i will tell you what the president is up today. important stuff going on at the whitehouse. ♪ >> this is the bill press show. it's completely inappropriate for television. ♪ >> this is the bill press show. >> happy friday friday, april 6th. coming up in the next hour bob kusack from "the hill" newspaper is going to be along in studio with us, and then frank rich from new york magazine has written a great piece in this month's new york magazine about the war on women waged by republicans and the catholic republican politicians and the catholic byrnes. down at the whitehouse today at 10:00 o'clock this morning, the president convening a white house summit, white house forum on women and the economy. the white house reporting that they will issue a report on women and the economy which will examine the ways in which the administration has worked to ensure women's economic security and create jobs for women through all stages of life. again, a ver

and we're going to add our wheat berries. >> tell me about wheat berries. >> they're not a berry. they're the whole wheat kernel. and it includes the brand and the germ, which makes it the most nutritious form of wheat you can eat because it has all the nutrients still in it filled with fiber as well as protein. it's very healthy. it's actual lay one-pot meal. you've got everything you need going for it. we just stir to combine all of this. >> and then you close the top? >> we close the top and then we just wait for all of the grains to absorb the delicious broth. >> a lot of rice cookers will turn themselves off when the rice is down or whatever you're cooking in it. so you could do this in the morning before you go to work and leave it? >> well, that's more of a slow cooker this is excellent because i don't know about you, but i don't have time in the morning to buy all my groceries and get it into a slow cooker. say it's 4:00, what am i going to make for dinner, i go to the grocery store, throw it in and depending on what the recipe is, you can have dinner done in about a half

i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," your first stop of the day. >>> city dwellers in santa domingo won't have to travel far for fun in the sun. sand, palm trees and pools all came to them as the country's first artificial beach opened to the public. unfortunately, due to rocky shorelines and polluted water, nearby oceanfront locations are no longer an option. the beach is going to be available through easter sunday. looks like fun. >>> well, one easter bunny in germany will go under the radar this year. that's because he doesn't actually look the part. meet pinocchio. he's a rabbit born with no ears, and he's kind of adorable. he resembles more of an oversized guinea pig. the 9-month-old rabbit was born to normal-eared parents. >> poor guy. >> i know. the owners decided on the name pinocchio since his lack of ears makes his nose look bigger. >>> and in australia the bunny isn't the main attraction this easter. the bilby is a rare australian animal that resembles a rabbit but it's actually a marsup

i'm lynn berry. here is some of the stories making the headlines this morning. nine 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, this is amazing a mother said she 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, to her surprise, in fact shock, the baby was alive. and that little girl is now improving. they're ca

i'm lynn berry.his is "early today," just the first stop of the day today on your nbc station. >>> a wildlife ranch in south africa gave a big welcome to a little friend. weighing in at just 11 pounds and totally adorable, harry the hippo caused a big stir when he arrived. the pygmy hippo has been on the critically endangered list with fewer than 3,000 still alive in the wild. zookeepers are taking special care, feeding harry every three hours, after which he gets a nice soak in his tub. >>> well, for one couple in japan, taking the plunge into marriage is literal. strapped in atop the peak of the world's steepest roller coaster, one man made it official with his bride-to-be just before they literally took the 121-degree-angle plunge. the couple was the first to sign up for the high-speed roller coaster wedding thrill, which includes a private coaster ride and a commemorative video. that's one way to do it. >>> and, finally, noisy kids always ruining your flight? >> yes. >> well, one airline in canad

i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today your nbc station. >>> artists and architects take over germany in a six-day light extravaganza. it comes to the city only every two years, where art takes over the streets of frankfurt in an industrial light showcase. train stations and city hall are transformed into a futuristic metropolitan area. over 10,000 visitors are expected to join for both interactive and decorative displays. pretty nice there. >>> chess masters in china play with some heavy-duty pawns. 32 cars served as the pieces in a larger-than-life chinese chess game. playing on a giant board drawn on the ground, two competitors dressed as ancient soldiers directed the cars into position. after about 90 minutes of play, the match ended in a draw. >>> finally, in india, an unlikely friendship is winning the hearts of locals. a stray dog and a monkey have turned a local hospital's yard into their personal playground. usually rivals, the two animals are seen as an

i'm lynn berry. those stories and more straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. >>> and we're going to begin this morning with a romney round. mitt romney made a big move toward winning the republican presidential nomination last night notching five primary wins. nbc's brian moore reports. >> reporter: if there were any doubts mitt romney was going to be the republican nominee, he erased them tuesday night with a clean sweep in connecticut, delaware, new york, pennsylvania, and rhode island. >> i can say with confidence and gratitude that you have given me a great honor and solemn responsibility. and together we are going to win on november 6th. >> reporter: rick santorum, who dropped out earlier this month, stopped just short of endorsing romney on cnn. >> so it's very clear that he's going to be the republican nominee and i'm going to be for the republican nominee. >> reporter: newt gingrich didn't drop out but tipped his hat to romney. >> it's a night that he has worked hard for for six year

i'm lynn berry. today we begin with suspenseful wait. the florida special prosecutor in the trayvon martin case says the next 72 hours she will release new information from her investigation. it's her job to decide whether george zimmerman will face charges in the death of the unarmed teenager. jay gray reports. >> reporter: like so much in the. >> good afternoon. >> reporter: the announcement was sudden and jarring. >> we lost contact with him, up to this point we had contact every day. he has gone on his own, i am not sure what he's doing or who he's talking to but at this point we're withdrawing as counsel. >> reporter: the now former attorneys for george zimmerman aren't sure where he is, haven't talked to him in days and they are worried. >> george zimmerman in our opinion and information made available to us is not doing we'll motill spaz emotionally m >> reporter: concerned he reached out to angela corey. >> one of the things every defense attorney tells is client is don't talk to the prosecut

i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. >>> we begin with a strategic move. the special prosecutor investigating the killing of trayvon martin has decided not to use a grand injury to decide whether his confessed killer, george zimmerman, will face criminal charges. that weighty decision will now be in her hands alone. nbc's jay gray has details. >> reporter: a handful of protesters, most of them students, marched to the sanford police department, blocking the front doors and for a short time actually closing the office down. as the protest over the trayvon martin shooting continued, special prosecutor angela corey announced she alone would determine if charges would be filed in the controversial case. she spoke briefly by phone with the protesters. >> she didn't give us much details. but sort of seemed to hint that something will be coming very shortly. so we were very excited by that. >> reporter: in a brief written statement, corey said she'd not p

. >>> i'm lynn berry. dick clark died of a heart attack at age 82, after a television career spanning more than 60 years. the man once known as the nation's oldest teenager created "american bandstand" in 1956 and started new year's eve rockin' eve. stephanie stanton has more on the life of this tv legend. >> reporter: the record stopped spinning for america's oldest teenager. dick clark died of a massive heart attack. the 82 wassed a -- fans paid tribute to this american icon. >> new year's eve will never be the same. miss a big icon is all i can say. >> words of praise from ryan sea crest who opened "american idol" by honoring clark. >> without dick, a show like this would not exist. he will be missed greatly. our thoughts and our prayers go out to his family. i know that he's in a better place, saying "hey, let's get with the show, okay" you got it boss. >> reporter: he hosted "american bandstanlts" that hosted african american and white artists. >> he was on the cutting edge of what was new and happeni

i'm lynn berry.s is "early today" the first stop of the day, today on nur nbc station. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com test, test, test. . . . . . test, test. . >> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning. we're off to a quiet but chilly start on this wednesday morning. we have the possibility for some rain showers this afternoon. down to 34 in frederick. 39 at the airport. 44 degrees in the city. sunshine to start. 30% chance for rain shower. high temperature in the mid 50's. we will come back and check the forecast going into the weekend. >> 39 degrees on tv hill. >> who owns the winning ticket in the mega millions jackpot. >> closing arguments today in the trial of the two brothers accused of setting a dog on fire. >> rick santorum suspenses presidential campaign. what it means for the gop race. >> so far so good on the major roadways. we have some [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.n

i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. today we begin with picking up the pieces. cleanup and recovery has started in texas after a string of tornadoes twisted through the dallas-ft. worth area tuesday. we now know a powerful ef-3 tornado was among those storms. several people were injured. hundreds of homes destroyed, but many, miraculously, none were killed. nbc's jay gray has more. >> reporter: it's been a full day since the storms, and the shock is giving way to the reality of what happened here. >> i had a lump in my throat. i don't know if it's really sunk in. >> reporter: at least 13 twisters on the ground across dallas-ft. worth, winds in some areas more than 160 miles an hour, ripping apart hundreds of homes, including jeri enox. >> i saw the funnel clouds coming toward the house. i was on the phone with my daughter. she said, mom, do you think you need to take cover? >> reporter: the winds grabbed abigail and threw her across the house. ano

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 hom

i'm lynn berry. today we begin with battle grounds wisconsin. mitt romney has picked up another key endorsement ahead of tomorrow's primary. the badger state. this as rick santorum under intense pressure from some of his party to drop out is vowing instead to stay in the race. nbc's brian mooar reports from washington. >> how are you guys doing? >> reporter: mitt romney is hoping a win in wisconsin's primary will bring an end to his rough road to the nomination. >> and on tuesday we're going to pick the next president of the united states. >> reporter: house budget committee chairman paul ryan is endorsing mitt romney and so is tea partier ron johnson. >> i totally believe he's committed to saving america. >> reporter: and with the republican establishment and prom nantd tea party members lining up behind him, romney is looking ahead. >> this is an election about what america is going to be. >> reporter: romney has a commanding lead in delegates and rick santorum is clearly tired of hearing about it. >> i'm not going to talk about this anymore.

i'm lynn berry and this is "early today." just your first stop of the day today on your nbc stations. [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning. i am jennifer franciotti. >> i am sarah caldwell. thanks for joining us for 11 news today. >> it just keeps getting better. i hope

i'm lynn berry. 60 countries including the u.s. moved closer yesterday to direct intervention in the fighting in syria. as secretary of state hillary clinton told a conference in turkey that, quote, the time for excuses is over. clinton says the u.s. is sending communications equipment to rebel forces. and arab nations pledged $100 million to pay opposition fighters. >>> in russia today, a passenger plane carrying 43 people crashed shortly after takeoff in western siberia. at least 16 people were killed and 12 survived the crash. >>> nobel peace prize winner and former political prisoner aung san suu kyi has been elected to the parliment in myanmar. she spent years under house arrest by order of the military government. >>> at least five people were killed in kansas when a crowded motor home hit a guardrail and went off a bridge crashing into a ravine just south of topeka yesterday. 13 other people in the vehicle were taken to hospitals. >>> and mt. etna in sicily is putting on quite a show as hot lava and ash erupt from the volcan