leanne gregg reports from century ten y'all. >> reporter: a last-minute surprise. james holmes' defense team bowed out from presenting evidence or calling witnesses who could speak to the suspect's mental state. the abrupt ending to the hearing comes after three days of compelling prosecution evidence. cell phone pictures holmes took of himself hours before the shootings. one with dyer red hair, black contact lenses and sticking his tongue at the camera. another smiling at the muzzle of the glock handgun in the frame. >> he had black eyeglasses on and he looked evil. he just sat in the courtroom pretty much delighted. >>> at the hearing evidence of the 31 gunshots during the 20-second call. investigators outlined how holmes spent weeks preparing for the attack. preordering his movie tickets and booby trapping his apartment with explosives to draw first responders away from the theater. now, the next step in the legal process, a trial with the possibility of a death penalty or a plea deal that would save the cost of a trial and avoid the grief of family members reli

leanne gregg, nbc, centennial, colorado. >>> president obama's cabinet continues to take shape as his second term begins. hilda soleis announced she will be leaving, and jack lew will be nominated to replace tim geithner. >>> a developing story north of the border, residents in canada are pleading or outside help to rescue a group of whales trapped in sea ice. right now, the mammals are gathered around a single hole in the ice. the villagers are can go the canadian government to send an ice breaker quickly top a team from the canada fishery department is expected to arrive today. >>> now, for a look at the weather. it is kind of depressing, hopefully, they fare okay. dylan dreyer is here with the weather. >> thank you, good to be back. weatherwise, the east coast enjoying a really nice january thaw. in fact by the time we get to the weekend, temperatures wl be well above average perhaps as much as 20 degrees. right now, we're talking about a lot of rain and it's falling around louisiana especially. yesterday, we picked up two to three inches of rainfall across parts of eastern texas.

nbc's leanne gregg joins us from las vegas with more on the propose am. >> reporter: a lot of optimism from the president. the november elections motivated not only democrats but republicans to work towards what's been a bitterly divided issue. the push is on as president obama calls for quick passage of immigration reform. >> we can't allow immigration reform to get bogged down in an endless debate. we have been debate thing a very long time. >> a golden ticket to life for a better life for my family. >> reporter: choosing nevada to unveil his plan where latinos make up close to 30% of the population, proposal includes a path to citizenship. >> if congress is unable to move forward in a timely fashion, i will send up a bill based on my proposal and insist that they vote on it right away. >> reporter: undocumented immigrants would have to register with the federal government and pay bonds and back taxes, undergo background checks but not before increased border security can be proven. illegal immigrants would receive green cards only after every lawful applicant has gone lou the proces

nbc's leann gregg reports from centennial. >> reporter: the defense team bowed out from presenting evidence. the abrupt ending to the hearing comes after three days after compelling prosecution evidence. cell phone pictures that holmes took of himself before the shootings. smiling with a muzzle of a glock handgun in the frame. >> he looked very, just evil and he just sat in the courtroom pretty much delighted. >> reporter: evidence of the horrifying moments from the 911 cull when 30 gunshots could be heard during the call. they outlined how holmes spent weeks preparing for the attack. now, the next step in the legal process, a trial with a possibility of the death penalty or a plea deal that would save the cost of a trial and avoid the grief of family members reliving the horrifying events again. >>> now to a developing story north of or borders. residents in northern canada are pleaing for outside help. right now the mammals are gathered around a single hole in the ice, the village is asking the government to send an ice breaker quickly. >>> and now here's your first look at this morning's

nbc's leanne gregg joins us now with more. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, richard. hundreds of people are expected to attend the hearing that will provide large amounts of previously sealed information, including gruesome details about what happened inside the theater. within five months after the theater massacre attorneys will lay out the case against jaims holmes seen here during an earlier hearing. >> the purpose of the preliminary hearing is to determine whether there is or is not probable cause holmes committed each and every one of the crimes alleged against him. >> reporter: during the week long proceedings the judge is expected to hear 911 calls, see snippets from hours of video and listen to witnesses. a ruling last week allows defense testimony about the suspect's mental state, despite the prosecution's objections. >> one of the problems for the defense in the holmes case is by going through the preliminary hearing much of the highly inflammatory and prejudicial evidence they were able to keep from public will be made public in open court. >> reporter: th

leanne gregg is live in las vegas where the president just wrapped up his remarks. >> reporter: president obama called important quick passage of immigration reform. he was optimistic saying important first time in many years republicans and democrats seem ready to tackle this problem together. he said if congress doesn't act in a i'mly manner he will push for his own legislation. his plan outlined today provides a path to citizenship. undocumented immigrants would have to register with the practical government, pay pines and taxes, and undergo background checks. but first, increased border security would have to be proven before any reforms take effect. >> thank you. the reason i came here today is because of a challenge where the differences are dwindling. where broad consensus is emerging. and where a call for action can now be heard coming from all across america. i'm here today because the time has come for common sense, comprehensive immigration reform. >> reporter: his plan is just a framework and passage of any legislation is not a given. however, this is seen as an important step