Early Today is an American early morning television news program airing on NBC. The program features general national and international news stories, financial and entertainment news, off-beat stories, weather forecasts, and sports highlights. It is anchored by Richard Lui for the Pacific and Mountain time zone editions, and Mara Schiavocampo or Veronica De La Cruz for the Eastern and Central time zone editions. It is the only early morning network newscast on any of the Big Three television networks that is not produced jointly with an overnight news program. The program is broadcast live at 4:00 a.m. Eastern Time, and is transmitted in a continuous half-hour tape delayed loop until 10:00 a.m. ET, when Today begins in the Pacific Time Zone. The program usually airs as a lead-in to local morning newscasts on most NBC stations, although in the few markets where the NBC station does not produce a morning newscast, it may air in a two- to three-hour loop immediately before the start of Today. The show is updated for any breaking news occurring before 7:00 a.m. ET, while stations throughout the network will join Today in all time zones past that time at their local discretion or network orders for live coverage..