this morning on "early today," rising optimism. a new nbc news/"wall street journal" poll shows now more americans believe the economy is getting better. house call. an emotional farewell to congresswoman gabrielle gaff ord -- giffords. hello. good morning. i'm lynn berry. today we begin a an improving outlook. according to new poll numbers it appears americans are becoming

more optimistic about the state of the economy. the latest nbc news/"wall street journal" poll shays the country is headed in the right direction up eight points from a month ago. 45% approve of the job president obama is doing in handling the economy. that is a six-point rise over the last month. and more people said they believe the economy will get better instead of worse in 2012. that is a seven-point jump over last month. all three polls came in at the highest positive levels they have been at in a year. on the heels of that, president obama kicked off a three-day campaign style swing through five battleground states yesterday and his first stop in arizona, there was a tense exchange between the president and that state's republican governor jan brewer. nbc's tracy potts joins us from washington with those details. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. it was tense depending how you look at it. when the president landed on air

force once was greeted by jan brewer which is customary but on the tarmac there appeared to be a fairly heated exchange between the two. at one point, she was pointing her finger at the president. it appeared to be over, we found out later, her book, "scorpions for breakfast." in that book, she describes a one-on-one meeting with president obama over illegal immigration as she described the president a patronizing in that meeting. earlier, she had given the media more positive reports. now, the governor says that she hand him a handwritten letter inviting him to come talk about that. the white house said the president said he was disturbed by the way she characterized the last meeting, but that he would be willing and, in fact, they said he would be glad to meet with her again. >> interesting. tracy potts for us in washington, thank you. president obama's new restructuring proposal for the u.s. military is going to be outlined today.

the pentagon budget plan would cut $260 billion in projected spending over the next five years, make required reductions. the u.s. army would slash the number of combat brigades for 35 to as low as 32, cutting as many as 80,000 soldiers. well, it was an unprecedent momentum on capitol hill yesterday. members of congress openly wept as they bid farewell to one of their own. arizona representative gabby giffords had to make a very difficult choice between the career she loves and the recovery she vowed to complete after last year's assassination attempt. >> reporter: a truly extraordinary day. party and politics simply did not mat. >> gabby, we love you. we have missed you. >> the brightest star among us, the brightest star congress has

ever seen. >> reporter: gone were the usual fiery passion. >> no matter what we argue about here on this floor or in this country, there is nothing more important than family and friendship. >> reporter: so many wanted to honor gab rielle giffords. >> her strength is an inspiration to all of us and all americans. >> reporter: giffords year-long hard-fought recovery brought her back here and continuing that work is the reason she will not stay. >> my district deserves to elect a u.s. representative who can give 100% to the job now. >> reporter: with her arizona colleagues of both parties gathered around, best friend congresswoman debbie wassermann schultz read the letter. >> i will recover and work and

work again. >> reporter: giffords was determined to deliver it herself. speaker boehner caught her briefly and then let his own tears flow. giffords last vote would on a bill she co-wrote. like all bills she brought forward, it passed unanimously. >> reporter: from the bear hug with president obama, to congress. >> you make me so proud! >> i missed you! >> quite a testament to the woman she is. that was nbc's kelly o'donnell reporting. now for a look at your national and region weather, here is meteorologist bill karins with a look at the forecast. >> i don't think it's the last we are going to hear from her. >> definitely not. >> i think she will do more great things. good morning, everyone. from ohio through pennsylvania,

even a little bit there in new jersey overnight, maybe a little coating of ice out there in a few spots and maybe a few school kids looking for delays, especially throughout pennsylvania and ohio. a winter weather advisories are in effect and we have had a little coating of snow in higher elevations of pennsylvania but i don't think we will deal with too much snow' accumulations. on the warmer side a big rain today. much of kentucky and also in tennessee. indianapolis, it's raining pretty good already. it's a cold, chilly rain for you. during the day today, especially super lexington to louisville and nashville to memphis you guys expect to get 1 to 2 inches of rain. all of the storms down to the south of mississippi and all of that moisture is heading due north as we go throughout the day. eventually some of the thunderstorms could work their way into new orleans during the morning rush hour. the forecast today, wet and cloudy in all areas of the east. a mess of sleet early today but that should improve during the day. temperatures, for the most part, will be warmer everyone where this afternoon but the roads should be just

that's a look at the national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. i mentioned the chance of thunderstorms there in new orleans. chance of light rain on and off during the day today. new york and philadelphia. the heavier rains will wait until tonight and into tomorrow. florida, one more day sun in the warmth. speaking of florida to rub it in. it was 85 yesterday with record highs. >> salt in the wound as it's sleeting outside here in new york. all right, bill, thank you so much. coming up, big ben speaks and wall street likes what it hears. your early morning headlines are straight ahead. plus, it's a multitude of reports are to be believed, demi moore needs help for much more than just exhaustion. coming up, the chance to get their rings and knicks continue to slide and an mvp makes a hall of fame call. you're watching "early today."

good morning. welcome back. i'm lynn berry. here are your top headlines this morning. the u.s. navy s.e.a.l.s team six the same unit that raided and killed osama bin laden was the unit that parachuted into somalia to rescue hostages jessica buchanan. they flew out by helicopter. an american journalist kidnapped in somalia on saturday is still being held there for ransom. timothy geithner says he does not expect to stay if president obama wins a second term. he told bloomberg tv the president asked him to remain last august but he doubts he will be expected to stay again. an accident during celebrations north of bangkok

celebrating the lunar new year. a youth ice hockey team practicing as holes appear before the roof on their head. then the roof came crashing on to the ice. amazingly no one was hurt. a bank robber shows him shooting himself in the foot via video footage. now here is another look at one of your top health headlines on msnbc.com. new studies found that the drug avastin. in november, the government revoked approval for avastin for advanced breast cancer because of side effects but it is still used in europe and japan. research continues on whether avastin improves long-term survival of breast cancer patients. for more information on this, check out the health page at msnbc.com.

now here is an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,756, after adding 81 points yesterday. the s&p was up 11 points. the nasdaq gained 31. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo, the nikkei lost 34 points. but in hong kong, the hang seng spiked 28%. stocks picked up steam on wednesday after learning the fed intends to keep his money policy in effect longer than planned. the nation's central bank said it would probably keep interest rates near zero until late 2014 citing struggling housing market and economic growth. ben bernanke said another round of easing is not out of the question. overall that was bad news for banks which find it harder to earn a return on low rates. the price of gold hit six-week high on hopes it could be an

appealing hedge ens . apple reclaimed its title of world's most valuable company after historic fourth quarter results. textron soared 15%. delta and us airways shot up on healthy earnings report. corning glass tumbled 1s% after declines for lcd tvs. netflix shot up double digits in late trade after reporting it recovered three-quarters of the customer it lost after raising prices last year. according to reality track, foreclosed homes accounted for a percentage of the sales than the year before.

in florida, a woman hopes jet art will take off with fashion buyers. she stands behind a jet engine using its hurricane forcing to splatter paint on blue jeans. good luck with that. new jersey jets pull out a nil nail-biter. knicks stumble again. blake given does what he does best against the lakers and the battle of l.a. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. in weather an umbrella day for many areas of the east coast. might as well make that tomorrow too. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, there was a full night of nba action wednesday night. highlighted by last season's champions receiving their just rewards. here is fred roggin with an early look at all of your sports headlines. good morning. there were 13 nba games last night but only one gets my ringing endorsement. we go to dallas for the mavs received their championship rings. owner mark cuban shelled out $1.4 million to play for the flashy jewelry. each ring worth about 40 grand. speaking of money. kevin love just signed a $60 million extension worth every

penny of it last night. 31 points and ten boards and timberwolves won it. now to langs. lakers needed a late fourth quarter rally to beat the clippers. kobe bryant with 12 of his 24 down the stretch and the lakers in city bragging rights with the win. first place sixers got more than they can handle from the nets. game is tied with one second left in regulation and kept it going in overtime. new jersey had the lead and heat finish with 34 and nets surprise philly 97-90 in o.t. carmelo anthony can cross jumping rope off the list. never a good thing when anderson varejao and omri casspi up the scoring sheet. freshmen nash scored 13 of his 27 in the final minutes and oklahoma state beat number one missouri.

dirk nowitzki didn't play last night but managed to put his stamp on the game while being interviewed on the bench. >> what a great part he was last year, especially nobody really believed -- oh, my god! oh! shut it down! let's go home! >> the mavs certainly did shut it down and go home. they lost by 15. dirk, don't quit your day job! >> that is your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. coming up, the celebrity who hasn't had sex for decades. and just what do you bet for next after winning $500,000? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, if you think about weightlifting and this is what comes to mind, stay tuned for a surprise. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today" on this thursday morning. we're tracking heavy rain. if you're in kentucky or tennessee or mississippi or louisiana. then friday morning all of that heavy rain will be in areas of southern new england and the mid-atlantic so keep that in mind for your plans. if you're watching on hgh 7 news in boston, mass, in nearby cambridge experience the new england forests at t. that is your "early today" event of the today.

here is an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. a source told e news going into the hospital, demi moore was acting like she was suffering from a seizure. tmz reports moore's hospital trip was brought on by inhaling nightus oxide. sources say moore is addicted to one or more prescription drugs and that addiction led to the breakup with ashton kutcher. elsewhere, elizabeth taylor's auction may be continued when a portrait that once hung in her living room sold for $2 million. all right. here is today's information winner. project runways tim gunn who admits he hasn't had sex for the last 29 years, that's not a typo. finally, rapper 50 cent who reportedly won $500,000 betting on the giants making the super

bowl, now says he will post a naked picture of himself on twitter if the giants win it all. let's keep the g-rated, okay? in denver, a nearby broomfield, one girl really knows how to pull her weight. 13-year-old abby is the championship weight listlifter. she started picking up the barbells three years ago when her dad took her to the gym. now she can lift 176 pounds, nearly twice her own weight, and she dritstarted to dream of fut olympic glory and best of all the guys at school promised to stop messing with her. i bet they have. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," your first stop of the day on your nbc station. our time is now.

we have 43 degrees outside right now. we have some clouds in the sky as well. good morning to you. i'm joe krebs. >> i'm eun yang. welcome to new 4 today for this thursday, january 26, 2012. today a former marine is expected to enter a guilty plea that he fired shots at the white house. yonathan melaku was connected to shootings at several military installations in the fall of

2010 and a cash of car break-ins. melaku pled guilty to the break ins and six months at jail. he faces a minimum of 35 years in federal prison and a maximum of a life sentence. arizona's governor is on the exchange after an intense exchange with the president. jan brewer was seen pointing her finger at president obama after getting off air force one yesterday. brewer handed the president an invitation to talk about the brewer. the president told brewer he was unhappy about her portrayal of their last meeting. the president then walked away in the middle of brewer's sentence. brewer defended herself on fox news channel. >> i want our borders secured. i want our nation protected. he wants