>> you knew that was coming, didn't you? to be honest, this entire segment was basically an excuse to play that clip. it took us a while to get to it but we finally did. also to check in ever so briefly with a member of the "90210" gang forever in our hearts on the "ridiculist." thanks for watching. "early start" begins right now. "early start" begins right now. have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com under attack from russia. shoppers everywhere, the target holiday mess part of an unprecedented hack attack like the world has never seen. the president just hours away from the most anticipated speech on spying in generations, but is it what he's not saying that might surprise you? and drought emergency. fires rage in california with fears this could just be the beginning. in just hours, the new, drastic measures going to be taken to survive these conditions. good morning. welcome to "early start." i'm christine romans.

>> i'm john berman. it is friday. >> say that again. >> friday, january 17th. it is 5:00 a.m. in the east. all right, let's begin with some alarming, new developments concerning the holiday security breach at target, which now appears to be part of a global computer hacking operation that potentially involves more retailers and millions more customers. a report from private and federal investigators suggests a highly sophisticated and nearly undetectable malware was used to obtain personal information at store checkout terminals. now, investigators say part of the malicious computer code appears to be written in russian. >> mm-hmm. >> experts say they've never seen a hack attack of this size and of this sophistication. >> it currently looks like as much as a third of the u.s. population may have had their credit card information compromised by these hackers. however, now with this new information that many other retailers could potentially have been breached, that number could potentially double in the next couple of weeks.

consumers need to be aware right now, paying very close attention to their statements. >> credit card numbers and other personal information, e-mail addresses, phone numbers of up to 110 million target customers has already been potentially compromised. target's now alerting people that the cyber attack stole much more than p.i.n. numbers -- names, mailing addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses also compromised. >> so, this is a lot bigger, touching a lot more people than anyone realized. we knew it was big, but it really seems huge. >> and it goes back to the core of what is the core of these hacking? it's usually, usually it's big, multinational organized crime. sometimes you can trace it back to government servers, you know, in the case of some recent attacks that originated off shanghai. this one russian code. that's what they're -- >> and what do you do if you shopped at target? >> already 2 million people have changed their chase cards, changed their chase card numbers. i think you need to look at your statement and change the number if you feel strongly about it.

>> all right. it's important information this morning. and again, this story keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger. about two minutes after the hour right now. this morning, firefighters in southern california are getting the upper hand on a wildfire near los angeles that has destroyed five homes and damaged more than a dozen other buildings. crews have stopped the flames from advancing. it's about 30% contained right now. authorities say they have arrested three men for allegedly starting this fire. >> the three people that we have in custody, they're all three males in their early 20s. reportedly, they were up, they had set a campfire. they were tossing papers into the campfire and a breeze, reportedly, a breeze had kicked up and set this fire. >> a red flag warning for extreme fire danger is expected to remain in effect through tonight because of the low humidity and wind gusts. that's a bad combination. and water shortages are also adding to this big mess. in just a few hours, governor brown of california is expected

to declare a drought emergency throughout that state. in just a few hours, president obama will deliver a much-anticipated speech on surveillance reforms at the national security agency. major changes to the agency's gathering of electronic intelligence are not expected. the white house says the president is likely to demand more oversight and transparency. >> we can and should take steps to make the activities we engage in in order to help keep america safe and americans safe more transparent. >> meantime, a report in the british "guardian" newspaper says the nsa has been collecting some 200 million text messages globally in a global electronic sweep. that's every day. the information is based on leaked documents from edward snowden. new this morning, cnn has learned the names of some of those subpoenaed in the new jersey bridgegate scandal, this as governor chris christie is lawyering up. he's hired a high-powered legal

firm, raising doubts that he will cooperate fully with the state assembly investigation. he said he will cooperate with what he calls appropriate investigations. we don't know yet what he considers appropriate, though. 17 individuals and 3 organizations were issued subpoenas. among those served, christie's chief of staff, kevin o'dowd, former deputy chief of staff bridget kelly, the one who sent that infamous e-mail, and bill baroni, the top official at the port authority, also a christie appointee. meanwhile, the governor is forging ahead with an ambitious public schedule. he heads to florida this weekend for a weekend of ambitious fund-raising, and then next week he begins his second term officially, and he will have his second inauguration. president obama expected to sign a measure funding the government through the end of september. he's going to sign that as early as today. current stop gap federal funding expires tomorrow. the senate gave the final legislative sign-off on the $1.1 trillion spending bill following the lead of the house with an overwhelming show of bipartisan

support. the bill's passage eliminates the threat of another government shutdown any time soon. $1.1 trillion, that's a lot. i wonder what's in there that we don't know about yet. >> 1.1 trillion things, no doubt. republicans and democrats not getting along when it comes to extending long-term benefits to more than a million unemployed americans. republicans want it paid for by spending cuts elsewhere. senate majority leader harry reid says the ongoing fight has now turned personal. >> i think that it's important that the republicans go home during the few days we're going to be here, go there next week and explain to the people in their respective states -- these are republicans -- why they didn't give these people the benefits because of process, because i was mean to them. >> reid accused republicans of filibustering efforts to get a measure passed. republicans think that harry reid is doing nothing short of bullying them, and they say he's the cause for the impasse right now.

breaking overnight, after 15 years in congress, oklahoma republican senator tom coburn is taking early retirement. coburn announcing he'll step down when the current session of congress ends, foregoing the final two years of his term. the 65-year-old senator has been battling a recurrence of prostate cancer but says he's not leaving early because of his health. >> we certainly wish him all the best. what's interesting about coburn, he's as conservative as they come, but he's always been willing to talk to the other side, someone who president obama has always considered a friend from his days in the senate. this morning a report on the deadly u.s. consulate attack in benghazi in 2012 is triggering fresh criticism of then secretary of state hillary clinton. arizona senator john mccain says that mrs. clinton should be held accountable for the attack that killed four americans, including ambassador chris stevens. the senate intelligence committee concluded the attack was likely preventible and said ambassador stevens had rejected offers of extra security, but senator mccain tells cnn's piers morgan this is only part of the story. >> well, i think it's important to point out that he had asked

for additional assistance. what he turned down was additional military assistance, but he certainly sounded a number of warnings about the deteriorating situation, including ten terrorist organizations, outfits that were right there in benghazi. >> mccain says that ambassador stevens was very aware of the unstable security situation in benghazi and informed the state department of his concern. we have new developments in the fight for syria. secretary of state john kerry says the obama administration's goal has not changed. it still wants to set up a transitional government in syria that does not include president bashar al assad, but secretary kerry reassured both sides, the opposition and the regime, that they will have a say in the country's future. the opposition is nearing a decision on whether it will attend next week's peace conference in geneva. stock futures higher this morning, rebounding after markets got hit by weak earnings from electronics retailer best

buy and underwhelming corporate results from citigroup. the dow industrials down about 65 points, the s&p down a little bit. a record close the day before. the nasdaq edged higher, so a mixed close yesterday. in europe right now stocks are up in london, frankfurt and paris. in tokyo, the nikkei closed slightly lower. here in the u.s., shares of intel are down more than 4% in premarket stock trading. the world's largest chipmaker said last night it expects revenue growth to remain flat this year. >> that's not good. >> something that really surprised wall street. the company said it overestimated the amount of spending by companies on things like new pcs. companies don't spend money unless they absolutely have to, and that's something that intel is seeing. all right, baig day for apple in china, people flocking to the china mobile store to get the first iphones which are now on sale in the country. how big a deal is the launch? big enough that apple's ceo was on hand to autograph iphones for customers in china. cnn's david mckenzie live in beijing. david, why is this launch so important to apple? does it have something to do with, oh, 700 million potential

customers? >> reporter: christine, yeah, more than double the entire population of the u.s. that's what could be the new base for customers and apple here. they did a deal with china mobile, the major cell carrier here, and that deal was six years in the making. you just saw how tim cook came here, really putting his face on this deal. it's taken six years and it's taken many trips from the ceo in recent months to ink this deal. what it does mean is it could mean 10 million or 20 million more iphones sold in china this year, and it is a boost for apple in china, which has been struggling a little bit against its competitors. >> apple's still far behind as the biggest provider in china. what about price? that's going to be important. and i know the first question that tim cook was asked by a customer in a store was, are you going to make one of the bigger screens? chinese consumers don't like a 4-inch screen. they want a bigger screen. >> reporter: well, that's right, and that's where samsung and

other makers here in china have really edged apple out for the chinese market. chinese customers want a bigger screen, they want a cheaper phone, or at least that's what the numbers tell us. apple is a distant fifth in the race to get that chinese market, christine, and they say, though, they're putting a bit of a positive spin on this, that they're all about premium sales to premium customers and they have much bigger margins here in china, but they do want to expand that. this deal helps them get out in the smaller cities outside of beijing, shanghai, reach those, frankly, rich customers here in china who can afford the apple products, but they have a long way to go to catch up, samsung, and they'll have a big windfall in the first few months, but where they can sustain it, that's the question that will face apple in the most important mobile market in the world. >> all right, david mckenzie, thank you so much. it will be fascinating to watch that. >> very, very fascinating and very important for apple. 11 minutes after the hour on january 17th, which means it is

time to say happy birthday, mrs. obama! the first lady turns 50 today. she seems to have a positive attitude about the big 50, describing herself in all modesty as "50 and fabulous." the highlight of her birthday celebration would be a weekend white house dance party. you know, it's dessert and drinks only, and there's talk this could start a whole new fad of dessert and drinks only parties. i'm not nearly cool enough to think of something that chic, but you know, happy birthday, mrs. obama. 50's the new 30 or 60 or -- >> when you turned 50, what did you do? >> exactly. >> just kidding. berman's not that -- >> long, long way to go. ferocious winds causing chaos on the freeway, whiteout conditions shutting down roads across the midwest. look at that. indra petersons tracking the damage and what is still to come for your weekend. and new information this morning on a deadly grocery store shooting. two women murdered. did they know their killer? that's next. life could be hectic. as a working mom of two young boys

angie's list saves me a lot of time. after reading all the reviews i know i'm making the right choice. online or on the phone, we help you hire right the first time. with honest reviews on over 720 local services. keeping up with these two is more than a full time job, and i don't have time for unreliable companies. angie's list definitely saves me time and money. for over 18 years we've helped people take care of the things that matter most. join today. [ female announcer ] neutrogena® pore refining cleanser. alpha-hydroxy and exfoliating beads work to clean and tighten pores so they can look half their size. pores...shrink 'em down to size! [ female announcer ] pore refining cleanser. neutrogena®. and better is so easy withrning you cabenefiber.o something better for yourself. fiber that's taste-free, grit-free and dissolves completely. so you can feel free to add it to anything. and feel better about doing it. better it with benefiber.

suddenly you're a mouth breather. a mouth breather! how do you sleep like that? you dry up, your cold feels even worse. well, put on a breathe right strip and shut your mouth. cold medicines open your nose over time, but add a breathe right strip, and pow! it instantly opens your nose up to 38% more so you can breathe and do the one thing you want to do. sleep. add breathe right to your cold medicine. shut your mouth and sleep right. breathe right. [ laughing ] ...is the crackle of the campfire. it can be a million years old... cool. ...or a few weeks young. ♪ [ laughs ] away beckons from orion's belt.

away...is a place that's closer than you think. find your away. for a dealer and the rv that's right for you, visit gorving.com. developing this morning, a travel alert in effect in parts of snow-choked north dakota. look at that! you can't see a thing! whiteout conditions being caused by near hurricane-force winds clocked at 72 miles per hour. i think there's a phrase for this. i think we call it a ground blizzard, is that right? officials shutting down i-94 from bismarck to jamestown yesterday. the interstate reopening this morning, but travel alerts are still in place with stiff winds

and subzero windchills in the forecast. >> winter on the prairie. all right, slick, slippery conditions in central ohio, the first of three fast-moving alberta clippers already dropping 2 to 4 inches of snow around columbus. there's more snow in the forecast for today and tomorrow with temperatures falling into the teens. and a different kind of dusting in frontier county, nebraska. check this out. that's really dust! it's a dust storm taking visibility to near zero there. oh, that looks awful, too. debris and dirt just whipping past the camera there. wind gusts topping 60 miles an hour. this is near the city of curtis, nebraska. let's get a check of the weather forecast right now. indra petersons has that for us. good morning, indra. >> i'm so proud this morning. >> i said ground blizzard. >> i'm very excited. you get the concept. you have a lot of snow on the ground, get the strong winds and it blows all that snow around and that's why they couldn't see around the dakotas. same concept into nebraska, they blew all that dust around. so, the same system with all the strong winds that was producing some of that snow has now made

its way to the east today. so, the ohio valley is looking for, yes, snow and gustier conditions, and some cooler temperatures as this guy starts to slide into the northeast. even the northeast looking for maybe some light showers or kind of a wintry mix. keep in mind, there are three systems out there. let's count them, one, two, three. all of these guys will continue to roll through as we go throughout the weekend. so, if you're in the midwest, ohio valley or the northeast, we're not looking for a lot out there, but just enough that a series of systems will continue to drop those temperatures kind of up and then back down, up and then back down, and of course, chances for showers. where are the hotspots? right around minneapolis we'll see maybe a hotspot, 4 to 6 inches of snow, also maybe kind of around 1 to 2 inches as we go get towards northeast, but syracuse, the farther north you are, you'll be affected by more of the clippers as they go through, so those rb will be heavier amounts of snow. everyone else, just a light precipitation, wintry mix through the weekend. temperatures will be fluctuating back and forth, generally around average if not slightly below through the weekend, even down to the southeast looking pretty good. so, there is something out there. it's just kind of on the mild

side, which is nice. >> all right. >> thank you very much. >> thanks, indra. learning new details this morning about a deadly grocery store shooting in elkhart, indiana. police say the two women who were killed may have actually known the gunman. he's been identified as 22-year-old shawn walter bear. the boyfriend of one of the victims says her family is still in shock. >> she did not deserve this at all. out of all the people, she did not -- she didn't deserve it. i don't know what his goal was, i don't know what his aim was, mad at the world. there is definitely a family grieving for her. >> police shot and killed the suspect, shawn bear, who was holding the store manager at gunpoint when they arrived on the scene. some people in west virginia are still without water this morning following a chemical spill, and there are new concerns this morning. health officials advising pregnant women to continue drinking bottled water. one expert says they just don't know enough to determine for sure if the water is safe there.

an employee for freedom industries, the company behind the leak, is proposing a theory that the chemical leak was caused in part from a broken water pipe near its property. this is no comfort for the mayor of charleston. >> i can't believe that what those folks did wasn't against the law on its face. in other words, if what they did was not against the law, we're in real trouble. the wall was deficient, the tank had leaked for quite some time, and somebody, apparently, dropped the ball. most coal operations are safe, and they're as clean as coal is allowed to be. >> renewed focus on regulations there. meanwhile, officials for the cdc continue to gather data on the chemical's potential health impacts. new details released in the aaron hernandez murder case. newly unsealed documents show police suspect the former nfl star pulling the trigger in

another shooting, an unsolved double murder from 2012. no charges have been filed in that case. hernandez is already awaiting trial on murder charges in the death of odin lloyd. police say they're investigating a possible link between the 2012 and 2013 shootings. >> a complicated, dark web surrounding that man. new this morning, the family of an ohio man put to death thursday now says they plan to sue. dennis mcguire was executed by lethal injection with a combination of drugs never before used in the united states. it reportedly took nearly 25 minutes for him to die as his daughter looked on in horror. attorneys for the family had tried to block the execution and called what happened thursday a failed, agonizing experiment. mcguire was convicted of the 1989 rape and murder of a pregnant newlywed. this morning the two victims in the roswell, new mexico, middle school shooting are showing signs of improvement. doctors say they remain optimistic about 12-year-old nathaniel tavares.

he's heavily sedated, on a breathing machine, still in critical condition. the other student shot by a classmate, 13-year-old kendall sanders, is expected to be released from the hospital. >> let's hope that recovery does continue. new questions this morning about a fatal black hawk helicopter accident in georgia. one soldier was killed, two others injured as the chopper slammed into the ground during a routine training exercise. officials are calling it a hard landing. now we're learning the soldiers involved were part of a special unit called nightstalkers. this is the unit responsible for flying navy s.e.a.l.s into pakistan during the bin laden raid. officials say there were no known mechanical problems during wednesday's flight. a new legal battle brewing this morning in washington state over the sale of pot for recreational use. the state's attorney general, bob ferguson, says cities may opt to ban marijuana businesses, despite a voter-approved state law. now, his opinion is not legally binding, but the issue could land in court.

some applicants for marijuana licenses in the state have indicated they'll sue if they are blocked from doing business in washington state. all right, coming up for us next, a huge change coming to the world of baseball. and i say a welcome change. christine romans does, too, although she says the game will never be the same again. >> look, i stayed up all night worrying about this. joe carter will explain. open to innovation. open to ambition. open to bold ideas. that's why new york has a new plan -- dozens of tax free zones all across the state. move here, expand here, or start a new business here and pay no taxes for ten years... we're new york. if there's something that creates more jobs, and grows more businesses... we're open to it. start a tax-free business at startup-ny.com. woman: welcome to learning. spanish in the car.c on. we're open to it. passenger: you've got to be kidding me. driver: this is good. woman: vamanos. driver & passenger: vamanos.

woman: gracias. driver & passenger: gracias. passenger: trece horas en el carro sin parar y no traes musica. driver: mira entra y comprame unas papitas. vo: get up to 795 miles per tank in the tdi clean diesel. the volkswagen passat. recipient of the j.d. power appeal award, two years in a row. so i deserve a small business credit card with amazing rewards. with the spark cash card from capital one, i get 2% cash back on every purchase, every day. i break my back around here. finally someone's recognizing me with unlimited rewards! meetings start at 11, cindy. [ male announcer ] get the spark business card from capital one. choose 2% cash back or double miles on every purchase, every day. what's in your wallet? i need your timesheets, larry! [ female announcer ] neutrogena® pore refining cleanser. alpha-hydroxy and exfoliating beads

work to clean and tighten pores so they can look half their size. pores...shrink 'em down to size! [ female announcer ] pore refining cleanser. neutrogena®. there's nothing like being your own boss! and my customers are really liking your flat rate shipping. fedex one rate. really makes my life easier. maybe a promotion is in order. good news. i got a new title. and a raise? management couldn't make that happen. [ male announcer ] introducing fedex one rate. simple, flat rate shipping with the reliability of fedex. so, next season in major

league baseball, it is going to be way, way different -- >> wait, it's going to be faster? >> no, baseball is always fast and interesting. there is instant replay. this means if this had been in place in 1996, the yankees would not have won the world series. >> whoa. >> the world would have been a better place. honestly, this could change everything. joe carter is here to explain the enormous impact of this. >> hey, joe. >> i'm totally on board with you, john. i think this helps the game of baseball. you look at football, they've been using it since the mid-'80s, basketball's been using it since the early 2000s. even little league world series uses instant video replay. so, this basically gives baseball the best chance at getting those big plays inside the game correct. now, think of it like the nfl but minus the red challenge flag. now, if a team does not like a call on the field, the manager of that team can challenge the play for video review. now, balls and strikes, they cannot be challenged. think plays at the plate, plays at a base, home runs, catches in

the field. those types of things can be challenged. and each manager will get no more than two challenges per game. now, in addition to all of this, replays will also be shown on video boards inside the ballpark so that fans can see what everyone else at home can see on tv. now, it's not a perfect system by any stretch, but it is major progress and a long time coming. hey, speaking of coming, on sunday, denver broncos head coach john fox has a lot on the line when his team plays the patriots for the right to go to the super bowl, but it's not as much as fox had on the line last november when he had to be rushed to a hospital for emergency heart surgery. >> well, it was pretty humbling and it was, you know, it was a little bit scary. i mean, i had an episode to where i really thought i was dying. as a player, you get injured and you miss a game or two. there had been probably 200 games since i had missed a game, so that was very hard. that was probably the hardest

part. >> you can watch the entire interview with coach john fox tonight on "unguarded" with rachel nichols. rachel also sat down with hockey legend wayne gretzky. that's tonight, 10:30 eastern right here on cnn. omaha! omaha! omaha! omaha! >> all right, you heard that right. peyton manning yelled "omaha" 44 times in sunday's playoff win over the san diego chargers, and 5 omaha-based corporations took notice to all those omahas, and now they want to pay it forward, and the plan is simple. they basically are going to donate $500 every time peyton manning yells "omaha" during the afc championship game this sunday. and of course, all that money will go to peyton manning's payback foundation, which helps disadvantaged kids. great story. hey, peyton's broncos host tom brady and the patriots sunday. that's 3:00 p.m. eastern.

the 49ers are in seattle for the nfc championship game at 6:30 p.m. eastern. >> journalistic integrity is -- >> tom brady, go patriots. >> i subtly heard that, but i was thinking, peyton manning, peyton manning, it's his time, peyton manning. it's going to be warm in denver on sunday. oh, your boy's in for a treat. >> ooh! >> in for a treat! >> thanks, joe. >> trash talking at 5:28, way too early! joe carter, thank you so much. >> i love it. >> on friday. the top headlines and everything you need to know for the day. i've quit for 75 days. 15 days, but not in a row. for the first time, you can use nicorette... even if you slip up... so you can reach your goal. [ male announcer ] now, quit on your own terms with nicorette or nicoderm cq. for aveeno® positively radiant face moisturizer. [ female announcer ] aveeno® with soy helps reduce the look of brown spots in 4 weeks. for healthy radiant skin.

aveeno®. naturally beautiful results. getting the right nutrition isn't always easy. first, i want a way to help minimize my blood sugar spikes. then, a way to support heart health. ♪ and let's not forget immune support. ♪ but now i have new glucerna advance with three benefits in one. including carbsteady ultra to help minimize blood sugar spikes. it's the best from glucerna. [ male announcer ] new glucerna advance. from the brand doctors recommend most. advancing nutrition for diabetes.

identity theft alert. new, serious warnings for everyone who shops with a credit card. a new report revealing the massive target security breach much bigger, more companies than we thought. >> huge. meanwhile, we're just hours away from one of the most anticipated speeches on spying in generations. what the president will say about the nsa and what he will not say that has a lot of people surprised.

crisis in california. wildfires rage as a drought ravages the state. the big move coming from the governor today. welcome back to "early start," everyone. great to see you today. i'm john berman. >> it is a very busy friday morning. i'm christine romans. it's 31 minutes past the hour. okay, so, new developments this morning regarding the holiday data breach at target expanding. it now appears to be part of a global computer hacking operation that potentially involves multiple retailers, millions more customers. a report from private and federal investigators suggests a highly sophisticated and nearly undetectable malware was used to obtain your personal information at store checkout terminals. investigators say part of the malicious computer code appears to be written in russian. experts say they have never seen a hack attack of this size and sophistication. >> it currently looks like as much as a third of the u.s. population may have had their credit card information compromised by these hackers.

however, now with this new information that many other retailers could potentially have been breached, that number could potentially double in the next couple of weeks. consumers need to be aware right now, paying very close attention to their statements. >> credit card numbers and other personal information of up to 110 million target customers has already been compromised. target has alerted people that the cyber attack stole much more than p.i.n. numbers. we knew it was card numbers and p.i.n. numbers for up to 40 million, but up to 70 million more also had names, addresses, e-mail addresses compromised. >> the size of this is staggering and appears to be growing. everyone really needs to take notice. >> where is it coming from, could it happen again? are we in the middle of it? is it still happening? those are the questions we have. >> more on that ahead. today president obama will address u.s. surveillance programs in a major speech at the justice department. few significant changes are

expected to the controversial data-gathering, a surprise to a lot of people. however, the administration is expected to demand more government oversight and transparency. >> we can and should take steps to make the activities we engage in in order to help keep america safe and americans safe more transparent. >> meanwhile, a report in the british "guardian" newspaper says the nsa has been collecting some 200 million text messages daily in a global electronic sweep. this information is based on leaked documents, once again, from edward snowden. new this morning, we've learned the names of those subpoenaed in the new jersey bridge scandal, this as governor chris christie hires a high-powered defense lawyer, raising doubts that he'll cooperate with the state assembly investigation. 17 individuals and 3 organizations were issued subpoenas. among those served, christie's chief of staff, kevin o'dowd, former deputy chief of staff bridget kelly and bill baroni, a top official at the port

authority and christie appointee. meanwhile, the governor is forging ahead with an ambitious public schedule, including a weekend of fund-raising a week before his second-term inauguration. it is a done deal in congress and president obama could sign a measure funding the government through the end of september as early as today. the senate gave the final legislative sign-off on the $1.1 trillion spending bill following the lead of the house, which showed an overwhelming bipartisan support for the bill. the bill's passage eliminates the threat of another government shutdown any time soon. this is the first time in years that congress has managed to pass an actual, real, long-term budget. meantime, republicans and democrats are battling over the extension of those long-term unemployment benefits to more than a million americans. republicans say any extension must be tied to spending cuts elsewhere. senate majority leader harry reid said that the legislative fight has turned personal. >> i think that it's important

that republicans go home during the few days we're going to be here, be there next week, and explain to the people in their respective states -- these are republicans -- why they didn't give these people the benefits because of process, because i was mean to them. >> reid accused republicans of filibustering efforts to get a measure passed. breaking overnight, the current congress will be a last for oklahoma senator tom coburn. the veteran republican announcing that he will retire with two years left on his current term. the 65-year-old senator has been battling a recurrence of prostate cancer, but he says he's not leaving early because of his health. a special election will be held in november to finish out coburn's turn. coburn is considered a staunch conservative, but he's one who does cooperate, talk in bipartisan fashion with people across the aisle, also someone considered a friend to president obama for several years. new evidence this morning that al qaeda in iraq is stoking civil war. the "associated press" reporting that al qaeda is handing out pamphlets in fallujah, asking

people to support them, urging them to take up arms in their fight against iraqi security forces, which are largely dominated by shiites. al qaeda has been fighting government troops in and around fallujah and ramadi for weeks. new developments in the fight for syria. secretary of state john kerry says the obama administration's goal has not changed. it still wants to set up a transitional government that doesn't include president bashar al assad, but he reassured both sides, the opposition and the regime, that they will have a say in the country's future. the opposition is nearing a decision on attending next week's peace conference in geneva. with santa ana winds dying down this morning, firefighters in california are getting an upper hand on a wildfire in the mountains near los angeles. five homes have burned and more than a dozen other structures damaged in this fire. authorities say they've arrested three men for starting the blaze. >> the three males we have in custody are all three males in their 20s.

reportedly, they were up, they set a campfire, they were tossing papers into the campfire and a breeze, reportedly, a breeze had kicked up and set this fire. >> officials say they have stopped the fire now from advancing. right now it's about 30% contained. dry conditions have been a problem throughout the state of california. later this morning, governor jerry brown is expected to declare a drought emergency there. developing this morning, a travel alert in effect in parts of snow-choked north dakota. look at those whiteout conditions. they're being caused by near hurricane-force winds clocked at 72 miles an hour. officials shutting down parts of i-94 yesterday. the interstate is reopening this morning, but travel alerts are still in place with stiff winds, subzero windchills in today's forecast. >> just looks cold. slick, slippery conditions in central ohio, the first of three fast-moving alberta clippers already dropping 2 to 4 inches of snow around columbus. there is more snow in the forecast for today and tomorrow

with temperatures falling down to the teens. and a different kind of dusting in frontier county, nebraska. >> yikes! >> check out this dust storm, taking visibility to near zero. i'll have to look to see if this is near the nebraska sand hills. there's all these sand dunes in nebraska. look at the debris, the dirt whipping past the camera. wind gusts topping 60 miles an hour. beautiful country out there, really beautiful country, but not right then. >> not so much in a dust storm. what you can see. >> not right then. there's a lot going on for the weekend. indra petersons has the forecast. >> one of the benefits of living in new york city where nothing comes at you with the tall buildings, nothing blows at us. we'll be talking about the exact same system that caused the conditions in the dakotas and nebraska yesterday. that's now pushed farther to the east, today bringing more snow into the ohio valley. keep in mind, it is wintertime, so yes, we're going to have a series of these cold fronts really kind of starting to make their way through over the next several days. so, one, two, three. you can take a look at all of these guys kind of pushing through. what's that mean for you? if you're in the ohio valley or the northeast, you'll see a series of these systems bringing a wintry mix all the way through

that entire weekend. so, temperatures, they are going to be kind of cooling a little bit below normal, but generally speaking, they're not going to be too bad out there. just a hint below normal and then back to above normal. i did want to take a second and show you the colby fire. you can easily see the offshore winds, the santa ana winds really blowing all that smoke offshore, enough that you can see this guy from space. unbelievable here. they're still talking about very dry conditions, high pressure in place. humidity's very low, even as low as 3%. that's the concern here, as winds are really bringing record-breaking temperatures in addition to those low humidities. never a good combo. >> dangerous conditions. indra, thanks so much. stock futures higher this morning, fighting back after markets were hit by weak earnings from best buy and citigroup. dow industrials closing yesterday down about 65 points, the s&p down, but you know what, the nasdaq was up just a little bit, so we'll call that a mixed close on the day. in europe right now, stocks are up in london, frankfurt and paris. in tokyo, the nikkei closed just slightly lower. there was a celebration in

an apple store in beijing this morning. the apple ceo, tim cook, helping kick off the first day that iphones would be sold through china mobile. china mobile is the world's largest wireless carrier, boasting a customer base twice the size of the entire u.s. population. it took apple six years to negotiate this deal. and interesting, one of the first questions he was asked by a customer in one of those apple stores was, will you make one with a bigger screen? chinese customers have different tastes than american customers. they want a bigger screen. they like the bigger screen models, so, he said they don't like to tell people what they're going to do next. >> a lot of americans want bigger screens, also. >> i know. all right, 41 minutes after the hour right now. coming up next, controversy and safety concerns surrounding the site of the upcoming olympics. now russia's president is weighing in. we're live with what the russian leader is saying, right after the break. [ tires screech ] [ car alarm chirps ] ♪

[ male announcer ] we don't just certify our pre-owned vehicles. we inspect, analyze, and recondition each one, until it's nothing short of a genuine certified pre-owned mercedes-benz for the next new owner. [ car alarm chirps ] hurry in to your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for 1.99% financing during our certified pre-owned sales event through february 28th. for aveeno® positively radiant face moisturizer. [ female announcer ] aveeno® with soy helps reduce the look of brown spots in 4 weeks. for healthy radiant skin. aveeno®. naturally beautiful results. open to innovation. open to ambition. open to bold ideas. that's why new york has a new plan -- dozens of tax free zones all across the state. move here, expand here, or start a new business here and pay no taxes for ten years... we're new york. if there's something that creates more jobs,

and grows more businesses... we're open to it. start a tax-free business at startup-ny.com. afghanistan, in 2009. on the u.s.s. saratoga in 1982. [ male announcer ] once it's earned, usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection. and because usaa's commitment to serve current and former military members and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. [ children laughing ] ♪

...is the smell of salt in the air. ♪ it's the sound a seashell makes. [ seagulls calling ] away...is a place that's beyond your imagination, yet well within your means. find your away. for a dealer and the rv that's right for you, visit gorving.com. welcome back to "early start," everyone. just 22 days now, the world heads to sochi for the start of the winter olympics, and russian officials are trying to ease security concerns, and there are a lot of them, for the more than 6,000 athletes from 85 countries who will be attending these games. president vladimir putin paying a symbolic visit to the many volunteers who are working to get the sochi venues olympic-ready. cnn's phil black has been watching for this. he is live in moscow this morning. phil, what's the russian leader saying? >> reporter: good morning, john.

vladimir putin is visiting these volunteers, as you say. these are the people that will be trying to spread the olympic spirit, help visitors while wearing big, bright, colorful uniforms. they're usually the heroes of any local olympics, and vladimir putin is trying to maintain a positive message about these games with just three weeks to go until the opening ceremony. and while russian officials say the final preparations are on track, going smoothly, they continue to be shadowed by some pretty serious issues. firstly, security and the threat of terrorism, particularly domestic terrorism after recent suicide attacks in something of an upstep in islamic militant activity, and secondly, the ongoing international criticism that the russian government is actively pursuing a policy that discriminates against the country's gay community. vladimir putin has been maintaining a consistent message on this point. he'll continue to do so today through a number of media activities. he will be saying that russia is ready to host these games safely, that it's done all it can to counter the terror threat to protect sochi and the visitors, and that russia is a

country that does not discriminate and will not discriminate during the two weeks of these olympic games, john. >> phil black in moscow. i cannot remember an olympics that began under the shadow of so much controversy. this is something we will be following in the 22 days until the games kick off. thanks, phil. we're also learning new details this morning about a deadly grocery store shooting in elkhart, indiana. police say the two women who were killed may have actually known the gunman. he's been identified as 22-year-old shawn walter bair. the boyfriend of one of the victims says her family is still in shock. >> he did not deserve this at all. out of all the people, she did not -- she didn't deserve it. i don't know what his goal was, i don't know what his aim was, mad at the world. there is definitely a family grieving for her. >> mad at the world. police shot and killed the suspect, shawn bair, who was holding a store manager at gunpoint when they arrived on the scene. happening today, a change of

plea hearing is scheduled for the man charged with sending poison-laced letters to president obama and other officials. 42-year-old james dutschke has pleaded not guilty. he's been jailed since april on charges of sending ricin letters to the president as well as senator roger wicker and a judge in mississippi. he faces life in prison if convicted. we're following the disappearance of a "wall street journal" reporter who vanished seven days ago after leaving his home in new jersey. david byrd bird left without his cell phone or any of the medication he needs to manage his liver transplant. media reports said byrd's credit card had been used in mexico. investigators decline to address that but say the search continues and they have several good leads. >> sure hope he's okay. this morning the two victims in the roswell, new mexico, middle school shooting are both showing signs of improvement. doctors say they remain optimistic about 12-year-old nathaniel tavares. he is heavily sedated and on a breathing machine, still in critical condition. the other student shot by a classmate, 13-year-old kendall sanders, is expected to be

released from the hospital soon. and we hope their recovery continues. look what's coming up on "new day" right now. kate bolduan joins us now. kate's here? kate, how are you? what's coming up on "new day"? >> well, hey, guys, how are you? >> someone just went running behind you, too. >> yes, you know. >> physically getting ready for the big show. >> the chaos of the morning! >> you know, it's one of those mornings where i had someone talking in my head when you were coming to me. you know, it's just friday. okay, here's what's coming up in the show. hillary clinton may face a huge hurdle if she runs for president. republicans are already pouncing on the newly released report i'm sure you guys have been talking about as well, that says the attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi, that it was likely preventible. that's been fuel to republicans' fire. one of her top defenders is going to be live on our show speaking out. what impact does he think it will have on her chances? he's a very close adviser to clinton. we'll get his take. also coming up, a new accusation against governor chris christie's organization this morning. a former prosecutor says he was fired for trying to indict one of christie's allies.

would the governor really go that far or is this just a disgruntled former employee lashing out? we're going to talk with the man behind the claims on the show, coming up. >> fantastic. you know, kate, we all have to come to grips with the voices in our head, right? it's something we all deal with every day. >> yes, it's a daily battle for me. >> thanks, kate. coming up, a growing frustration in west virginia this morning, thousands still without water, others with access now warned about its safety. a lot of questions in west virginia. the latest next. if you're seeing spots before your eyes, it's time for aveeno® positively radiant face moisturizer. [ female announcer ] aveeno® with soy helps reduce the look of brown spots in 4 weeks. for healthy radiant skin. aveeno®. naturally beautiful results.

♪ stacy's mom has got it goin' on ♪ ♪ stacy's mom has got it goin' on ♪ ♪ stacy's mom has got it goin' on ♪ [ male announcer ] the beautifully practical and practically beautiful cadillac srx. lease this 2014 cadillac srx for around $319 a month with premium care maintenance included. ♪

51 minutes past the hour. growing concern this morning for people in west virginia who remain without water. thousands still have not been accessed -- allowed access to water, and those who have are now being warned about its safety. pregnant women advised not to drink the water. many people in the state had no idea that an obscure company was storing the coal-washing chemical or that the company had not received regular inspections. >> i can't believe that what those folks did wasn't against the law on its face. in other words, if what they did was not against the law, we're in real trouble. the wall was deficient, the tank had leaked for quite some time, and somebody, apparently, dropped the ball. most coal operations are safe,

and they're as clean as coal is allowed to be. >> an employee from freedom industries says the chemical leak was caused in part by a broken water pipe near its property. a new legal battle brewing this morning in washington state over the sale of pot for recreational use. the state's attorney general, bob ferguson, says cities may opt to ban marijuana businesses, despite a voter-approved state law. his opinion is not legally binding, but the issue could land in court. some applicants for marijuana licenses have indicated they'll sue if they're blocked from doing business. "12 years a slave" is the critics' choice, the film winning best picture at the "critic's choice movie awards" hours after receiving nine oscar nominations. its breakout star won for best supporting actress. some of the night's odd big winners could foreshadow oscar night. matthew mcconaughey took home best actor in "buyers club" and cate blanchett winning for her

role in "blue jasmine." coming up, china takes a bite of the apple. iphones now for sale in beijing and apple's ceo tim cook there for the launch. if you're seeing spots before your eyes, it's time for aveeno® positively radiant face moisturizer. [ female announcer ] aveeno® with soy helps reduce the look of brown spots in 4 weeks. for healthy radiant skin. aveeno®. naturally beautiful results. we read and write poetry because we are members of the humanshend race.eness"] aveeno®. and the human race is filled with passion. and medicine, law, business, engineering - these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. but poetry, beauty, romance, love -

these are what we stay alive for. to quote from whitman, "o me, o life of the questions of these recurring. of the endless trains of the faithless. of cities filled with the foolish. what good amid these, o me, o life? answer: that you are here. that life exists and identity. that the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse." "that the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse." what will your verse be?

welcome back to "early start." it's "money time," friday edition. we've got stock futures higher this morning, rebounding after markets were hit by weak earnings from electronics retailer best buy and underwhelming results from citigroup. the dow industrials closing down nearly 65 points, the s&p down a little bit after a record close the day before. the nasdaq edging higher. here in the u.s., shares of intel are down 4.5% in premarket trading. the world's largest chipmaker says last night it expects revenue growth flat in the year, something that surprised wall street. intel said it overestimated the amount of spending by companies on things like new pcs. and it was a party in an apple store in beijing this morning. apple's ceo, tim cook, helping kick off the first day that iphones would be sold through china mobile. china mobile is the world's largest wireless carrier, boasting a customer base twice the size of the entire u.s. population. it took apple six years to negotiate this deal.

china mobile says it had more than a million preorders for iphones. bitcoin just got another cheerleader. you know what bitcoin is, right? the digital currency that basically came out of nowhere. you've been hearing it. some say it might rival the u.s. dollar some day. some say it's just something used in the course of illegal activities. there are plenty of critics who think this is of course all a pipe dream, but the l.a. sacramento kings became the first professional sports franchise to accept bitcoins. customers will be able to shop online for tickets and merchandise with bitcoin by march 1st. online retailer overstock.com and gamemaker zynga already accept it currently looks like as much as a third of the u.s. population may have had that credit card information compromised. >> new alert. the u.s. government warning

retailers that the hackers that hit target could strike again. their methods more advanced that we knew. all details ahead. moment of truth. president obama takes on the nsa today. expected to announce changes to the agency's controversial surveillance program. what stays, what goes. duck dynasty down. the hit reality show back on the air after huge controversy. the railings are -- ratings are in. your "new day" starts right now. >> good morning. welcome to "new day." it's friday, we breathe in, we breathe out. january 17th, 6:00 in the ooets. now some news, it turns out the massive security breach at target was bigger than even we

thought. new this morning, the federal government sounding a warning to retailers. part of a much larger cyber attack on businesses that may not even know they've been compromised. the sophisticated malware appears to have been written in russia. what do we know? >> we know it's being kept under wraps, chris. signer forensic -- cyber forensic experts sifting through these includes. we know that this is not an isolated event. an international and undetectiveble malware may have corrupted point of sale systems of multiple retailers. it suggests the shocking holiday breach affecting target stores across the country has potentially affected a large number of retail