emotionally about the dolphins. they want to protect them just because they're cute and clever." well, we're going to have more on this story tomorrow night. marine mammal specialist rick o'berry, featured in "the cove" will join us. thanks for watching. "early start" begins now. "early start" begins now. have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com a huge blast of winter about to slam the east coast after hammering the midwest from heavy snow to freezing temperatures, we have what you need to know this morning. raining on his parade. governor chris christie's second inauguration happening under a cloud of controversy as more allegations of political payback mar his second term before it even begins. on high alert. new details this morning as security teams search for a terror suspect in sochi just weeks before the olympic games. could there be more attackers there just waiting to strike? >> good morning and welcome to

"early start." i'm christine romans. >> and i'm john berman. it's tuesday, january 21st, 5:00 a.m. in the east. let's begin with another calling card from old man winter. the eastern u.s. bracing for a heavy hit of snow, ice and bitterly cold temperatures. this is just a couple of weeks after, remember the polar vortex experience? the federal government has already closed for the day and more than 1,800 flights have already been canceled. >> parts of the midwest getting slammed already with snow. take a live look at the snowy roads in indianapolis. really just look like they're crawling along there. yikes! and here's what you could see driving on a highway in bismarck, north dakota, monday. just about nothing! you can't see a thing! needless to say, the combination of freezing snow and high winds have made for very, very dangerous conditions this morning, and they will stay that way. our meteorologist, indra petersons, is here with the latest on this unwelcome storm. >> good morning. >> yes, that's a perfect example, what you just showed. you talked about the high winds and some very dry snow. that's going to be the concern as we go through today.

we're still going to be talking about potentially near blizzard-like conditions in many places, and on the cape itself, blizzard warnings already in effect. let's talk about where we currently see the storm. you can still see it kind of making its way over the ohio valley, still pretty dry. notice chicago's got about 3 inches of lake-effect snow, but generally, the snow totals we've seen have already been dry, thanks to it not having gone over the water yet. that is going to change as soon as that low connects with the ocean. you really get all that moisture. look at the totals we're expecting. new york city, anywhere up to as high as 10 inches of snow possible, same thing for d.c., even philly. notice on the cape itself, where they have those blizzard warnings, they could be looking for a foot of snow combined again with those strong winds. let's talk about the timing. looks like early this morning, by 10:00 or 11:00 in the morning, we could start to see the snow falling in d.c., maybe 11:00 or 12:00, starting to see it in new york city. then it will make its way up to boston, maybe 4:00 p.m. or so by tonight, we're still talking about snow, but 11:00 p.m., maybe exiting out of the d.c. area. still snowing in new york and

boston, early morning hours it clears out in new york. still in boston, up towards new england, even by the time we talk about tomorrow. so, it's going to be a little bit long-lived here. talking about strong winds in addition. and remember, it is so cold and very similar to what we saw a few weeks ago, that very dry snow, that it doesn't take that much wind to blow it around and bring that visibility very low. so, speaking of those temperatures, take a look. well below normal. looking at 33 today in through tomorrow, cooling off even more. add in that windchill, it's going to feel a lot cooler. we're talking about new york city feeling like 2 degrees, and if it's this cold, that snow will be sticking around for a while as well. >> indra petersons, thanks. with the cold weather comes another concern, propane gas and heating oil running low in some areas after last week's blast of arctic air. the governor of ohio declaring a statewide energy emergency. governor kasich also has asked the federal government to speed up fuel shipments to his state, and he's asking residents to turn down the thermostats for conservation. >> a lot of schools dealing with a tough question this morning. you know it's going to start snowing hard midday.

do you call school off before the day even starts? >> i know. i'm watching my phone right now for the alert. >> over the next few hours, you will all be getting alerts, i trust. also, from winter storm to the political storm surrounding new jersey governor chris christie. he will be sworn in today for a second term. it is safe to say, though, this is not how he envisioned this inauguration playing out. the governor has been dogged by allegations of payback politics. first, of course, there was the bridge scandal. now he's accused of withholding superstorm sandy funds from the city of hoboken unless the mayor went along with a favored real estate development project. the lieutenant governor of new jersey is publicly denying these charges, calling them false and illogical. >> any suggestion that sandy funds were tied to the approval of any project in new jersey is completely false. >> all right, i want to bring in cnn's erin mcpike, who is live in trenton, new jersey. erin has practically moved to

trenton to cover the events there. the inauguration today was supposed to be this giant celebration of chris christie's second term. i think he wanted to put a national spotlight on the events there. how overshadowed will these events now be? >> reporter: well, a lot, john, obviously, but the guidance we've received from the christie administration is that he doesn't plan to address any of these controversies in his inaugural address today, but it obviously has taken a big toll. a new pew research center poll came out yesterday that showed his unfavorable rating has jumped, doubled in the last year, and also, a majority of people who have heard of the george washington bridge controversy say they don't believe him when he says he didn't know anything about it, john. >> and erin, what is the latest on, i suppose, the second controversy, what the mayor of hoboken is saying that superstorm sandy funds were withheld unless she supported a certain real estate project? what's the status there?

>> reporter: well, john, the christie administration has taken a very forceful approach to this. obviously, the lieutenant governor came out and denied it multiple times yesterday, and there's no real concrete evidence yet to prove what the hoboken mayor is saying. it's more of a she said-she said kind of a situation. take a listen to what she said last night on anderson cooper's show. >> i couldn't believe it. i mean, i just, i couldn't believe that she was saying what she was saying, i mean, and she very clearly said these things shouldn't be connected, but they are. i know it's not right, and if you tell anyone, i will deny it. >> reporter: and the christie administration is actually looking forward to this inquiry because they believe that they will be proved right in this situation, john. >> nevertheless, i think it does show that there is already a drip, drip, drip of allegations and there could be more, even opportunistic allegations that the administration will have to deal with. erin mcpike, thanks so much for being with us in trenton this morning. all right, as the olympic

torch draws closer to sochi, anticipation for winter games is building along with concern the city could be a prime target for terrorists. russian authorities are searching for a so-called black widow terrorist who could be intent on doing harm during the olympics. meantime, the u.s. military is making contingency plans for evacuating americans from sochi, if necessary. cnn's phil black is following the developments for us live in volgograd, russia. and we just showed the picture of the so-called black widow. authorities in russia searching franticly for her. tell us more on that. >> reporter: yeah, that's right, christine. they've distributed that photo and some information about this woman to hotels across the region, saying that they are very intent on finding her. her name is ruzanna ibragimova. they say she comes from dagestan, she's 22 years old, the widow, they say, of a militant killed by russian forces. they believe they have information that suggests she is from dagestan, a place in russia where they are still fighting

against islamist militants almost daily. she's traveled from there to sochi at some point earlier this month, and they believe she is working with a terror group planning some sort of terror attack on the olympic region of sochi. they say she's quite distinct looking. >> all right, we're obviously having technical problems with phil black, but clearly, that is something the russian authorities are working very hard to try to make sure that nothing disrupts, no terrorism disrupts those events. meantime, the united states actually looking at evacuation plans for americans and for any tourists and athletes, john who might be going there, so. >> sending ships to the black sea, just in case, to be close to the games. >> so, we'll check in with phil black later. we have breaking news overnight, a student shot on a campus of a university in pennsylvania. police are not releasing the name of the victim, shot while sitting in the parking lot of the school's athletic center. they have locked down the campus just outside of philadelphia and ordered students to stay indoors until 6:00 a.m. this morning. that's just under another hour right now, but police believe

there is no active shooter on campus. the injured student is hospitalized in critical but stable condition this morning. developing this morning in omaha, authorities there investigating the cause of an explosion and a fire at an industrial animal feed plant. two people were killed, ten others injured. officials say the death toll could have been much worse. one man who was inside the building describing the chaos. >> i heard a loud noise and i looked up, i seen everything collapsing. i started running. next thing i know, i see a big fireball, and i tried to run, get away as fast as i could. >> officials have recovered the body of one of the victims, but they say the building is too unstable to reach the other person killed. new this morning, the family of the american held in north korea right now is speaking out this morning. it comes after kenneth bae appeared before reporters monday saying he committed serious crimes and he urged the obama administration to work to free him. in response, his sister issued a statement asking for mercy and

apologizing to north korea's leader on bae's behalf. in the meantime, u.s. officials are offering to send a special envoy to north korea to help secure his release. the majority of americans oppose the nsa's bulk collection of telephone records and don't believe the president's proposals to reform that agency will change anything. take a look at this new survey by the pew research center and "usa today." 53% of the adults surveyed disapprove of the nsa's phone-spying tactics. just 40% approve. and an overwhelming 73% say the changes offered up by the president won't increase privacy protections. just 21% say they will. new this morning, the faa is taking steps to reduce the chance of plane collisions. sounds like a good idea. with more staggered take-offs and landings at more than a dozen major airports. problems have been arising as planes abandoning landing attempts have landed on routes intersecting with planes taking off. the changes could make travel

time delays even longer. >> and you know our airport infrastructure has not kept up with demand, and that's a problem, a real problem. u.s. stock futures higher this morning following a trend in the markets we've been seeing today. stocks around the world generally higher. dow futures up 41 points right now, ahead of a big earnings week. today alone, three dow stocks are reporting earnings. you're going to hear ibm, johnson & johnson, verizon, and stocks in london, frankfurt, paris, all higher right now. stocks in asia higher this morning. in japan, the nikkei up nearly 1%. stocks in asia gained as china's central bank pumped about $43 billion into money markets to ease fears of a credit crunch there. here's a sobering thought for you. want you to look at this statistic. about half of the world's wealth is owned by just 1% of the world's population. that works out to the 85 richest people owning the same amount as the bottom 3.5 billion. >> wow. >> this is a study from oxfam that comes just at the start of the world economic forum this week. leaders there in davos, switzerland, have identified

income inequality as one of the greatest risks facing the world in 2014. and not just risk to developing nations but a risk to developed nations as well. >> you're hearing it from the pope. you're now hearing it from the president. it is becoming in some ways the issue of our day. 11 minutes after the hour right now. after three years of power-saving hibernation, a european comet-chasing spacecraft has phoned home. rosetta, that's the name, is now awake. it sent a signal back to earth on monday from just past jupiter's orbit, causing cheers to erupt in the european space agency's mission control. [ cheers and applause ] very european cheer. the history-making adventure began ten years ago when the unmanned spacecraft was launched. if all goes well, rosetta will rendezvous with its target comet in august and fly with it for three years. >> very cool. >> i like the three-year hibernation, which sounds good, at 5:12:00 a.m. very cool, surfers not the

only ones showing off their skills. this is in santa barbara. take a look at that in the wave, a group of at least a dozen dolphins making a cameo. this is the women's final over the weekend. surfer abbi brown caught the wave and took off with the dolphins as they swam just beneath her. so cool. the tandem ride drew applause and cheers from the crowd. >> she should get extra points for dolphins. >> i know. >> very cool. that reminds me of the shark fish. remember the controversial picture. >> two little kids and the shark. >> very, very cool. all right, 13 minutes after the hour. coming up from us, controversial inflight, international uproar over crucial peace talks. did the united nations bungle this delicate situation? and caught on tape, a man survives an avalanche while filming it on his helmet cam. find out what he says about the ordeal. farmer: hello, i'm an idaho potato farmer.

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syrian government. however, the syrians did send off their delegation to geneva on monday. they were sought off by president bashar al assad himself. and when he did that, he once again reiterated that he believes that the geneva negotiations should be about what he calls fighting terrorism. with that, he obviously means fighting all of the groups that are opposed to the regime, even the ones that the u.s. and other western nations consider to be moderate rebel groups. now, speaking to people here on the ground in damascus, many of them will tell you that, yes, they do have hopes that this geneva conference could bring about some sort of cease-fire or peace accord. however, many of them will also tell you that they simply cannot imagine a syria without bashar al assad at the helm. they say they're afraid that chaos would ensue if he steps down. they look, of course, to the north and to the east of this country, where you have groups that are affiliated with al qaeda that are giving many people there a lot of problems, but at the same time, people we speak to say they cannot go on the way they are right now. of course, even those who live

in the government-controlled area feel the civil war that's been raging here for more than three years now, and they just feel that things seem to be getting worse and worse in this country, so they do hope that these negotiations could bring about some sort of solution. however, that hope is not very big. >> our thanks to fred polite again in damascus. a lot of people are putting a lot of hope in these discussions, which the united nations might have put in jeopardy with that invite to iran. a shocking new report claims to have found direct evidence of systemic torture and killing by president assad's regime. the report from a team of renowned war crimes prosecutors and forensic experts was given to cnn's christiane amanpour. it's based on thousands of photographs of detainees killed in syrian custody. the experts claim their findings would stand up in an international criminal tribunal. deliberations are less than ten days away in the amanda knox retrial in italy. on monday, both sides made their

rebuttals to closing arguments. the prosecution demanding that knox be extradited if convicted. she is being tried in absentia for the 2007 murder of her roommate. this is her third trial for this crime, having served four years before her conviction was overturned in 2011. a verdict is expected soon after deliberations on january 30th. new developments on the west virginia chemical leak that contaminated the water supply of 300,000 people. top state officials calling now for tighter regulations. a proposed bill by the governor would mandate annual tank inspections and require new emergency plans in the event of a spill. now, the company whose plant leaked 7,500 coal-cleaning chemicals earlier this month filed for bankruptcy last week. in japan, fishermen say an infamous annual dolphin slaughter has begun. nearly 500 bottlenosed dolphins were driven to taiji cove, an annual event defended by officials as an annual tradition, but activists are

outraged as well as ambassador to japan caroline kennedy. it's not clear how many dolphins will be killed, but the government allows for the killing of over 2,000. stunning, new video of a volcano erupting in indonesia. mt. cinnabon has been erupting since september and forced thousands of people to leave their home and seek government-run shelters. officials say 16 people have died due to illnesses related to the eruption. clean water is in short supply and calls are mounting for the government to declare the situation a national disaster. >> wow. you know that was incredible video. we also have some incredible, new video from the helmet cam of a skier who actually triggered an avalanche in colorado's backcountry. lance lyght and his ski buddy survived this ordeal. oh, my goodness. the camera on his helmet captured everything before, during and after the avalanche. >> and when you watch the video up close, i ski over a couple other people's tracks that didn't trigger it initially.

so you know, it just kind of comes down to whoever is going to, i don't know, just kind of random chance. then i saw it fracture and i just tried to straight-line it over the cliff and instantly deploy my airbag. >> it really is amazing. an expert described this as a medium avalanche with snow 6 to 8 feet in some parts. i guess lance was lucky it wasn't worse than that. he will be talking about this adventure in the 8:00 hour of "new day." >> gosh, some of the technology for these skiers, the airbags, they have gps locators, they have, you know, a helmet cam so they can look at what happened? amazing, amazing the technology. >> soon there will be a robot on the ski trail. coming up, the self-proclaimed world's best cornerback, he's the best in the world! is actually dialed it back and apologizing for his epic post-championship rant. details in the "bleacher report," next. lot of beautiful makeup out there, but one is so clever that your skin looks better even after you take it off. neutrogena healthy skin liquid makeup. 98% saw improved skin.

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so, we all know the basic rules of football, right? when you score a touchdown, next up is the extra point. well, christine romans is alarmed this morning that the nfl is considering changing all that. >> no, does anybody not get the extra point? it is sort of a -- >> i guess, five times all this year it was missed, hardly ever, out of like 1,200. andy scholes with the "bleacher report" this morning. andy? >> good morning, guys. in an interview with nfl network yesterday, commissioner roger goodell said basically the extra point, it's become so automatic and really boring that they're considering doing away with it altogether. now, extra points, they rarely

miss, as you said, john. they've had a 99.1% success rate since 2004. now, if they do away with it, one of the proposed ideas is that teams would automatically get 7 points for a touchdown, and then they would have the option to run a play from the 2 yard line. if they're successful, they would get an extra point, but if they fail, they would lose a point. that's just one of the proposed ideas. all right, number one in the lineup section of bleacherreport.com today, the seahawks' richard sherman is now apologizing for his epic rant following seattle's win in the nfc championship game. sherman told espn, "i apologize for attacking an individual and taking the attention away from a fantastic game by my teammates." he added, given another chance, he would do things differently. all right, we all know the tickets to the super bowl are expensive, but this year's game is taking it to another level. the cheapest ticket on stubhub right now going for more than $2,500. you want to sit in the lower level on the 50 yard line? that's going to cost you close to $11,000 a ticket.

according to seatgeek.com, tickets to this year's big game are on pace to be the most expensive ever. now, one lucky fan in texas doesn't have to worry about ponying up the money for the game. 15-year-old tyler sampson won three tickets after being selected a winner in the nfl together we make football contest. tyler shared his story playing football despite being born without much of his right arm. he was presented the tickets by the dallas cowboys' demarcus ware at a pep rally at school. what do you think about the extra point? do you like it? you want to keep it? >> i like it. i like the two-point thing, where if you lose it you lose it or you get an extra point, i like that. i'm voting for that one. >> i'm compelled to agree with her for a variety of reasons, andy. >> no, actually, i think it's a really interesting -- it would really speed the games up, and i love the idea of losing the point if you don't get the two-point conversion. >> it's a wager. >> i say go for it. >> i like the change. >> and i think the price of

super bowl tickets is warranted when you look at the beautiful swamps of jersey where this is happening. i mean, you've got to pay for that kind of a zip code, right? >> she can say that because she's a new jersey resident. >> i know. i'm saving $10,000 from my couch. you can tweet me. top headlines, everything you need to know for the day, including details on this major winter storm, right after the break. let's put some music on. woman: welcome to learning spanish in the car. 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. aflac! got 'em. ♪ yeah, he's clean, boss. now listen to me, duck. i have an associate that met with, uh, an unfortunate accident.

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blast of snow and chilling cold. a winter storm walloping the midwest, and it's heading east. what you need to know in moments. and celebration with a side of controversy. it's governor chris christie's big inauguration day today. the question is, will he be able to escape questions surrounding all the scandals? a terrorist in sochi. a search is on for this woman who could be planning an attack at winter games. is she working alone? >> welcome back to "early start," everyone. i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. it's half past the hour right now. here it comes again, an arctic air mass pushing down from canada, bringing with it snow, ice and more mind-numbing cold across the midwest and all the way to the east.

as much as a foot of snow expected in some areas along this very busy northeast corridor. the federal government offices in d.c. have already closed for the day. parts of the midwest already getting hammered. more than 1,800 airline flights canceled already due to the storm. indra petersons is here with the frosty details. she's had no practice on stories like this so far. >> yeah, not at all. bear with me. we picked up on this yesterday, the models picked up that this system would intensify into the midwest. generally dry. it's a clipper, which doesn't typically bring that much snow with it, except for chicago with the lake-effect snow. here's the thing, though, it's going to intersect with the ocean and bring all that moisture. so, closer to the coast you are, you're talking about heavy amounts of snow, even a blizzard warning right off the cape right now where they could see the highest amounts, about a foot of snow. new york city, philly, even d.c. calling for as much as 10 inches of the snow. and out towards pittsburgh, also about 2 to 4 inches. so, let's talk about what's going on. here's the low. once again, looks like by 10:00 or 11:00 this morning, we'll start to see some of that making

its way through d.c. 11:00 and 12:00, new york city seeing some of that snow. boston, not until the late afternoon are you going to get into the can action. and overnight it clears out of d.c. maybe in the overnight hours. still snowing though overnight for new york city and boston, even through the early hours tomorrow morning, still talking about that snow. finally clearing about 6:00 in the morning for new york city, still making its way up the coastline, so boston and eventually maine through wednesday. still talking about the dry snow thanks to the cold air. think about it, we have strong winds out there, so still talking about really blowing around, that visibility being very poor out there. and then there's the temperatures. you'll, of course, have strong winds and cool temperatures, it's going to feel even cooler than the lows you're already going to be talking about. highs today, d.c. looking for 34, at 10 below and feeling like single digits with snow and wind. i hope you guys brought a lot of jackets, not just one. you need like two. >> i've got boots. >> a dress and boots. >> i'm ready. >> perfect. >> thanks, indra.

in a few hours, new jersey governor chris christie will be swor sworn in for a second term. it's a day of celebration, but it will be shrouded in controversy by not one, but two now political scandals. christie's lieutenant governor is dismissing claims by hoboken mayor, dawn zimmer, that the christie administration was playing politics with superstorm sandy relief funds, holding them hostage to win her support for a real estate development project. the mayor fired back on "ac 360" last night. >> i think what's interesting about what the lieutenant governor said today is, as she says that my -- you know, it's illogical what i said. and when you look at the documents, you look at the letters that i've written, you can see that it wasn't illogical at all. it's actually a progression, you know, leading up to something where they wanted to send me, give me a very direct message. >> so, the new jersey assemblyman who's leading an investigation of the christie administration plans to speak with the hoboken mayor about her allegations. we're joined now this morning by

cnn political editor paul steinhauser to break this all down. paul, this was supposed to be a big inauguration day, a celebration. at this point, how do you think it will play out? >> here's the game plan for today, john. it starts about three hours from now, and chris christie's going to be in newark, new jersey, at the same inner city church where last october he marked the one-year anniversary of superstorm sandy. then it's off to trenton, the state capital, for the governor. that's the swearing-in, the official swearing-in and his inaugural speech. and finally, tonight, the big party, i guess you could say, at historic ellis island at liberty state park. john, we're told that the governor will not be making comments. we believe he will not be making comments about the controversies at his inaugural speech, very different than last week. remember, he did make a mention at his state of the state address of these controversies. you really hit it on the head there, though. this was going to be a day of celebration, to look back at the achievements of chris christie's first four years in office as new jersey governor and also of his landslide re-election victory last november and maybe a hint of things to come in

2016. all that now being overshadowed, i guess you could say, by these clouds of controversy, john. >> let's talk about 2016, because chris christie has really made no secret of the fact that he is considering a run for the presidency. he will have to play to the entire national audience. any sense of how americans overall now view the governor? >> yeah, we've seen a couple poll numbers out there over the last couple days on chris christie, since these controversies have hit. here's brand new numbers that came out yesterday from the pew research center. look at this. the middle line, i guess, is the most important. you can see the upper line a year ago, his favorable rating among all americans, 40%. really hasn't changed much, but look at the unfavorable in the middle. from 17% a year ago, doubled to 34%. on the bottom there, people who didn't know enough about chris christie. you can see that number getting smaller as he's been more in the limelight here. john, one thing that's important about that poll number there, it's democrats and independents. those unfacial numbers have skyrocketed, hurting a guy who touts his bipartisanship. and look at this here, right here on the screen.

this really hurts his credibility, i guess you could say, 32% believe him, 58% don't believe him when he says he didn't know about those lane closures at the george washington bridge. john? >> so, i know the governor and his allies right now are probably looking for some kind of silver lining from all this. is there any out there? >> yeah, in this poll, there sure, is and we've seen it elsewhere as well. that is that republicans are sticking with him. look at this. republicans' opinions of chris christie a year ago, 49%. has it changed? not at all. and we talked yesterday about chris christie's trip this past weekend to florida to do fund-raising as chairman of the republican governors association and also with some top donors, and we were told he got a very warm reception. so, right now republicans are sticking with him. john, with all poll numbers, we always say about this, people change their opinions, there could be new controversies, new developments here. his approval ratings and unfavorable ratings could go up or down. this is far from over, john. >> paul steinhauser in washington, thanks so much. it appears the u.s. military will be at the ready to evacuate americans, if needed, from

sochi, russia, in the event of terrorism during the olympic games. officials are preparing to deploy transport planes and navy ships to the region, that as russian authorities are trying to track down a so-called black widow who has vowed revenge for her islamic militant husband's death at the hands of russian security forces. cnn's phil black is back with us. he's on the phone now from volgograd, russia. let's start first with the search for this woman in the pink head scarf, this idea that there could be black widow or black widows who are bent on destruction for the olympics. what do you know? >> reporter: yeah, christine, the concern is she could already be in sochi. that's what russian authorities believe. that's why they've distributed notices to hotels with those pictures, her description. they said she's 22 year old from dagestan. they say she tried to enter sochi within the last two weeks and could be working with a terror group to plan an attack in the olympic region of sochi. she's very distinctive looking, a scar on her left cheek.

and the concern is that she's gotten into the game zone so close to the olympics, when security is supposed to be very, very tight, and russian authorities are so concerned, they are asking for members of the public to help them find her, christine. >> now, if there were an attack, what do we know about how the u.s. is now preparing to react? >> reporter: yeah, there is a contingency. so, planes, transport aircraft in the area and also two military planes going to be stationed in the black sea off sochi, in international waters, just in case something happens like a terror attack, just in case there are americans that need to get out, and just in case the russian government decides it needs help, christine. >> all right, phil black in volgograd, russia, for us. thank you, phil. breaking news overnight. police are looking for a gunman after a student was shot on the campus of widener university just outside of philadelphia. the victim was hit as he sat in the parking lot near the athletic center. he is hospitalized in critical but stable condition this morning. police say they have searched the campus, students have been told to stay inside until 6:00 a.m. this morning. developing this morning,

authorities in omaha, nebraska, say they've now accounted for everyone who was inside an animal feed processing plant during an explosion and partial building collapse. two people were killed, ten others injured. one of the plant workers say the whole experience was very frightening. >> i heard a loud noise and i looked up. i seen everything collapsing. i started running. next thing i know, i see a big fireball, and i tried to run, get away as fast as i could. >> cause of that plant explosion still under investigation. new this morning, u.s. secretary of state john kerry heading to geneva to attend a peace conference about syria that gets under way tomorrow. representatives from iran will not have a seat at these talks. the united nations secretary-general rescinded his invitation following tehran's rejection of plans for a transitional government in syria. russia's foreign minister says it was a mistake to disinvite iran, which is president assad's chief sponsor, but not a

catastrophe. new this morning, the faa taking steps to reduce the chance of plane collisions with more staggered take-offs and landings at more than a dozen big airports. problems have arisen as planes abandoning landing attempts have ended up on routes intersecting with planes that are taking off. the changes could worsen delays at peak travel times, but the faa says safety is more important. he's been held in north korea for more than a year now, but there are encouraging signs this morning that could possibly lead to kenneth bae's eventual release. the u.s. is offering to send a special envoy to north korea to try and secure his release. bae was paraded before reporters monday and told them he had committed serious crimes, and he urged the obama administration to work to free him. kenneth bae's family is doing its part to bring bae home. they issued a statement asking for mercy and apologizing to north korea's leader on his behalf. >> a lot of people wondering what are the mechanics behind this, why did the government allow him to do that? and others are optimistic, because when others have confessed, it's not been long

before they're released. >> there's a lot of propaganda at play here. of course, the important thing is to get this guy home. >> absolutely. all right, let's talk about the stock market, u.s. stock futures higher after a trend we're seeing in the markets all around the world. stocks around the globe are generally higher. dow futures up 56 points. that's ahead of a big earnings week. today alone we'll hear from ibm, johnson 'johnson and verizon. stocks in london, frankfurt and paris higher. asian stocks higher. stocks in asia gained as china's central bank pumped money into the money markets to ease a credit crunch there. we've heard a lot about income inequality lately. a report from oxfam says almost half the world's wealth is owned by just 1% of the world's population. that works out to the 85 richest people owning the same amount as the bottom 3.5 billion people. this study comes just ahead of the start of the world economic forum this week in davos, switzerland.

leaders there have identified income inequality as one of the greatest risks facing the world in 2014. we know that the president has said income inequality will be his signature issue of the year. those folks at davos saying this is the biggest threat to developing and developed nations, is income inequality. >> and the "post" talking about it also. very much a hot-button topic. 42 minutes after the hour now. coming up, president obama's nsa proposals not going over too well with the american people. and a shocking number don't think these policies will even work. plus, incredible video of this volcano erupting. it's a crisis there about to unfold. mine was earned in korea in 1953. afghanistan, in 2009. orbiting the moon in 1971. [ 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

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oh, finally someone i can talk to. [ male announcer ] it's not complicated. new smartphone plans starting at $45 a month, with no annual contract. only from at&t. welcome back, everyone. so, when it comes to the nsa's phone and internet spying activities, most americans oppose them and have little faith in the president's proposals to reform them. take a look at this new survey by the pew research center and "usa today." 53% of the adults surveyed now disapprove of the nsa's bulk collection of metadata, while just 40% approve. and an overwhelming 73% say the changes offered up by the president will not increase privacy protections, while just 21% say they will. stunning, new video for you this morning of a volcano erupting in indonesia. mt. sinabung has been erupting since september, forcing thousands of people to leave their homes. they're having to seek temporary shelters. officials say 16 people have

died related to illnesses from the volcano's eruption. clean water is in short supply and calls are for the government to declare the situation a national disaster. >> we've been looking at these pictures for days and they are stunning, but the situation seems to be getting more serious. coming up on "new day," kate bolduan joins us now. >> good morning, kate. >> good morning, guys. this morning we'll be hearing from the family of kenneth bae, the american held more than a year now in north korea. his sister is speaking exclusively with "new day" about her fears now that her brother has spoken publicly and asked the obama administration to help get him released. we're going to hear her take on that whole situation. that's such a tough one for that family. and also, you well know and you've talked about it, it's inauguration day for new jersey governor chris christie, coming at the very same time his lieutenant governor and his staff are defending their actions amid new accusations of the woman on the right there, from the mayor of hoboken, that they strong-armed this mayor, that coming from her. we're going to be live in trenton. we'll also speak with one of the top republicans in the state this morning to get his take on

this whole thing. and it is inauguration day. >> all right, thanks so much, kate. >> thanks, guys. an emotional reunion in alaska. a man gets to meet the rescuers who pulled him from a frozen lake and saved his life. last month, 60-year-old michael fruzier was riding his motorcycle on the ice, hit a thin patch, went right in, and then two ice fishermen came to his rescue. >> we didn't have any rope, so we did the old i'll lay on my belly. >> i grabbed his legs and we just basically worked together as a team to get him out of the water. >> so grateful to those guys for putting their lives at risk to save me. i'm so grateful. >> the emergency techs say the fishermen got to him just in time. when he arrived at the hospital, his body temperature had dropped down to 91 degrees. >> that is crazy! a lucky, lucky man. >> yeah, unlucky and then lucky. all right, coming up for us next, could an execution in texas violate international law?

and why some people now say this case could put americans abroad at risk. another reason to pop open a bottle of red wine and dig into that candy bar. >> i don't need another reason. >> right now, berman! 13 minutes to the top of the hour. why scientists say it could be good for you, not for breakfast, but good for you. >> why not breakfast? >> okay. >> it's always good.

welcome back to "early

start" this morning. mexico is trying to block the execution of a cop killer in texas, arguing it would violate international law. nick parker has more for us this morning from mexico city. >> reporter: a last-ditch appeal here in mexico to the planned execution of edgar arias planned for this wednesday in texas. in a strongly worded statement, the mexican foreign ministry said the execution would be a clear violation by the united states of its international obligations under the vienna convention, whose observation is fundamental in guaranteeing the right of every person to a due process." at the center of the controversy is the accusation tamaio was not offered access to mexican consulate assistance after his arrest in 1994. the vienna convention states that any person detained in a foreign country has the right to speak to their country's officials. the 46-year-old was later convicted of shooting dead a police officer after he was arrested for robbery. >> by setting an execution date

in this case, we have sent a signal to the international community that the united states doesn't care about the promises that it makes to its treaty partners. >> reporter: in 2004, the international court of justice ruled the u.s. had violated the vienna convention in the case of tamayo and 50 other mexican nationals. u.s. secretary of state john kerry has urged a stay of execution, arguing it could undermine u.s. interests abroad, but texas prosecutors say the case has been reviewed by a series of courts and the death by lethal injection should proceed. >> thank you, nick. a sticky situation with two friendly countries at odds here. moving on now. in west virginia, officials are calling for tighter regulation of chemical plants. earlier this month, 7,500 gallons of coal-cleaning chemicals seeped into the elk river, contaminating the water supply of some 300,000 people for days. the governor has unveiled a new bill that would require annual tank inspections and new emergency plans to address spills.

the company behind the recent leak filed for bankruptcy last week. new this morning, officials in texas have arrested two people in connection with a massive credit card scam. the mexican nationals are accused of stealing account information from residents in south texas to purchase numerous items from stores, including best buy, walmart, toys "r" us. officials say the two were carrying nearly 100 fraudulent credit cards. all right, so, don't feel bad anymore about raising your glass, tearing open that chocolate wrapper. >> we're supposed to feel bad? >> any time of day. a new study says that high levels of an antioxidant called flavonoids found in red wine, berries, tea and dark chocolate may lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. the uk's national health service isn't so sure, though. it's questioning how the study was set up and says people should not overindulge. >> this is where we say, every time we do one of these studies, moderation, moderation, moderation. >> and i say how do you get to be a part of one of these studies? that's what i say. sign me up.

>> paid to drink wine and eat chocolate. coming up, more good news for the one-percenters. details on who's making the money in "money time." still running in the morning? yeah. getting your vegetables every day? when i can. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] could've had a v8. two full servings of vegetables for only 50 delicious calories. and better is so easy withrnings 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.

good morning. welcome back to "early start." it's "money time." global markets um across the board today and u.s. futures higher, too. dow futures up about 50 points. big earnings day for dow stocks. we'll get results from ibm, johnson & johnson and verizon later on. if you're a football fan, you might have heard of the super bowl indicator? >> huh? >> it says stocks could pick up steam if the seahawks beat the broncos. happens in less than two weeks. the lore goes like this, the dow goes up when a team from the original football league beats a team that played in the upstart american football league. don't laugh, the indicator's been more or less accurate 80% of the time, but it's just pure dumb luck. anyway, and we've been hearing about income inequality. a new report from oxfam says that almost half of the world's wealth is owned by just 1% of the world's population. that works out to the 85 richest people in the world owning the same amount, holding and controlling the same amount of wealth as the bottom 3.5

billion. this is a study that comes just ahead of the world economic forum in davos, switzerland, this week. income inequality will be a major topic there. all the central bankers, all the big wigs around the world gather and talk about how to fix the world's problems. and this might be the ultimate symbol of the gap between rich and poor. a bottle of whiskey sold for a record-shattering $628,000. >> oh, my goodness. >> this is at a sotheby's auction in hong kong. that crushed the previous record of $460,000. that was for a bottle of whiskey in 2010. this is a rare mccowan "m." it was an exclusive 6-liter decantor. there is an encouraging sign, the proceeds will go to hong kong charities, but someone had the cash to spend $628,000. how many shots are in a 6-liter? >> does it make you fly after you drink it? like, what happens? i like whiskey, but -- >> it makes you rich. it makes you so rich that you can drink $628,000 worth of

richness. >> that's a lot of richness. all right, that's it for us this breaking overnight. whiteout conditions are upon us and a massive snowstorm is moving east. more than 1,800 flights canceled already. and this time, it won't be gone as fast as it comes. terror hunt. russian police in an all out search for a black widow who may already been inside sochiment and she may not be working alone. "new day" exclusive. the family of kenneth bae reacting to his dramatic press conference. what they see in that video. your "new day" starts right now.

>> good morning. welcome to "new day." it's tuesday, january 21st, 6:00 in the east. right now, a big bad polar blast is bearing down on the northeast. so nasty, it shut down the federal government. forecast is showing a frozen spine from the mid atlantic to maine. it's threatening to be a turbo charged tie if he can ta whipped by high-speed winds. >> the midwest and plain states already feeling it. drivers simply blinded by swi swirling snow. and if you're planning to fly, you might want to check with your airline before you head to the airport. our coverage begins this morning with george how well in cold and snowy chicago. good morning, george. >> reporter: good morning. so, hey, we get to kick it off right here in chicago. we're seeing the fst