we're covering the very latest and when it will finally, finally warm up. judgment day for amanda knox, awaiting a third verdict in her former roommate's murder. could the freed american be forced to return to an italian jail cell? we're live. and justin bieber arrested again, accused in the assault of a limo driver. and now, a petition to deport bieber is gaining huge momentum. why the white house may actually have to get involved. >> now wait, i'm trying to keep score. dui, assault of a limb you driver. >> and the california egg thing. >> the eggs. we have to unravel that for you this morning. good morning, welcome back to "early start." i'm christine romans. >> i'm john berman. it's 5:00 a.m. in the east. a cold morning today in atlanta and across the south, still trying to get moving again after a few inches of snow and a few millimeters of ice paralyzed the region. the death toll across the south,

at least ten. thousands of people were left stranded in their cars or they had to stay at school, sleeping at school, or they stayed in their offices. others spent nearly a day just trying to get home. this morning the state is promising to help people get back to their abandoned cars as many are asking who was responsible and who's going to pay the price for all this? victor blackwell live in atlanta this morning. he joins us on the phone. victor, still some frustration this morning, people just starting to be reunited with their kids and their cars. certainly not back to normal there. what's the latest? >> reporter: well, john and christine, good morning. there have already this morning been reports of crashes because there are significant patches, stretches of ice on the interstates around atlanta, ice on the streets in inner city atlanta. the georgia emergency management association has declared a civil emergency through noon, asking people, with the exception of emergencies, to stay off the roads around the atlanta metro

area. also this morning, you know, the initial crisis is over. the snow, of course, has ended, but now, of course, as you mentioned, is the recovery, trying to get drivers back to their vehicles that they abandoned when they had to walk sometimes eight, ten miles home on tuesday. we know that georgia state patrol, national guard members are actually driving people back to their vehicles to try to help get back to these cars. in many cases, those cars have already been towed, so they have to figure out who towed the car, where is the vehicle, and in some cases, they'll have to pay or they'll have to -- if they've already paid, some local counties or municipalities are actually reimbursing the people who had to pay to have their cars removed from tow lots. >> wow. all right, victor blackwell reporting for us live this morning. thank you, victor. still ongoing, even though the worst of the crisis may be over. i want you to look at an image from woodstock, georgia. take a look here. that is a car in a sinkhole covered in water. the reason it's there, the slippery roads.

the car slid into a fire hydrant. >> the water kept flowing out from the hydrant. >> you got out of the car safely. >> yeah. >> how long before this happened? >> probably 30 minutes. >> did you see it happen? >> yeah. i was back there and all my school stuff was in it, and i was like, uh. >> virginia beach saw a lot of accidents, wracking up about 9 inches of snow in virginia beach. this car smashed into a house. the driver and three people in the house went to hospital. none of the injuries said to be serious. north carolina digging out this morning with schools closed, many offices telling workers stay home. this after a few inches of snow fell there. the problem this morning is the cold, causing the roads to freeze over. you know, it took until late in the evening, but the last students stranded at school in alabama are finally, finally home this morning. more than 11,000 kids spent the night in their schools with their teachers because of this storm. the last ones reunited with their families, john, just a few hours ago. some of these last kids finally got home. indra petersons watching the

weather for us. indra, are things going to get better in the south? >> i think the morning's going to be tough, like they said, until about noon today. you still have very cold temperatures, but a nice warm-up is on the way. so that's good news. this is a 12-hour loop, the system just offshore, leftover showers around florida. but again, if you have clear skies, you have dry air, temperatures are cooler. so, many places in the south this morning having a hard freeze. there are very cold temperatures, many of them below 20 degrees. you can actually see that already. a lot of places actually cooler than even yesterday. so, that's the concern. there's still a lot of black ice on the roadways, especially some of those overpasses and bridges, but once you get past the initial morning hours, things improve, because anything left on the ground should melt. temperatures start to go to the 40s today in atlanta itself and actually eventually above normal, into the 50s. so, that's the good news into the south, things are improving. even the northeast, temperatures are getting better. upper midwest, though, as typically we always see, here comes the cold air again, meaning, yes, snow in the forecast. several rounds of them, nothing too major, but minneapolis could

see 4 to 6 inches of snow today. easy to see one, two, three. each system kind of makes its way through, nothing too significant. we'll be watching those kind of carefully, but big thing to notice, it is snowing, it is also very windy, so some strong gusts out there, a good 40, even 50 miles per hour, blowing that snow around, which always brings problems because you can't see, visibility goes way down. >> and after you spent two hours shoveling the driveway. >> i don't know anything about that. >> thanks, indra. five minutes after the hour. president obama back on the road visiting the milwaukee area, also nashville, part of his post state of the union effort to drum up support for his economic ideas. the president will stop at an engine plant in wisconsin and a high school in nashville where he is expected to outline just what he will do if congress decides it does not want to work with him. this came after a day of stops in maryland and pennsylvania. >> i'm hoping the congress goes along with this, but i'm not going to wait for congress. i can do more with congress, but i'm not going to not do anything

without congress, not when it's about the basic security and dignity of american workers. >> one program is already in the works. president obama has directed the treasury secretary to make rules for a new plan designed to help lower-wage workers save for retirement. >> because half of american workers work for companies that don't offer a retirement plan. the president says, you know, that's not good enough. we need to have a starter retirement account, because the people who have been the winners the past five years are people who have got stock market investments. for half of american workers, they have no avenue for that. >> interesting idea, calling it m.y.r.a. >> still a lot of details to work out on that, too. republicans are on maryland's eastern shore today, gathered fof their winter retreat where immigration is expected to be the big topic today. top leaders include house speaker john boehner. they plan to release a set of principles for the immigration overhaul, including giving probationary status to many illegal immigrants. they say they will only move toward making those principles law if the rank and file agree.

this morning, new york congressman michael grimm says he is trying to move on. this is, of course, now after he's officially apologized to a reporter that he threatened to throw off a balcony and break in half like a boy. grimm made the threat just after the state of the union address, when the reporter asked him about a campaign finance allegation. well, after initially defending his outburst, the congressman now says he is sorry. >> this was an unfortunate incident that shouldn't have happened, and you know, i'm sure my italian mother is going to, you know, be yelling at me saying you weren't raised that way, and she's right. she is absolutely right. the bottom line is, i overreacted, and my emotions got the better of me. i lost my cool, and that shouldn't happen. >> grimm says the reporter has accepted the apology. the two are planning to have lunch together some time next week. can i make the joke again? >> yes. >> they're going to break bread instead of breaking the reporter in half. >> i think they should bring his mother, too, by the way. a terrifying morning from a top u.s. intelligence official,

telling congress that a syrian militant group tied to al qaeda is determined to attack the u.s. and its allies and is right now training a growing number of fighters to do that. director of national intelligence james clapper says the fighters come from europe, from the mideast, these fighters even come from the u.s. the plan is to train them, send them back home to carry out new attacks. and the director of national intelligence also had troubling news on north korea. clapper said the isolated nation is moving ahead on threats to advance its nuclear weapons program by examining the size of the uranium enrichment facility and restarting a plutonium reactor closed since 2007. south korean intelligence confirms the reactor is up and running. the north has been beefing up its nuclear program since an atomic test explosion last february. early going shows u.s. markets may be shrugging off what was an ugly, ugly performance overnight overseas. japan's nikkei bearing the brunt of a broad-based sell-off. these are big percentage

declines there when you look at tokyo, for example. hong kong and shanghai also lower. london hovering around break-even after early selling. u.s. futures up just a bit. the worries in asia centered around the u.s. federal reserve's plan to pull back the amount of money it is injecting into the global economy. you remember the taper? investors concerned that places like turkey and india really dependent on all of that stimulus for growth, and as it slows, their currencies are dropping. that's shaking confidence in the markets, shaking stocks, too. call it the bieber bear market going on right now. >> i think it has nothing to do with bieber. bernanke is much more powerful than bieber. don't tell the beliebers, but it's true. >> they'll be shocked, because this morning, justin bieber is in trouble in not one but two countries. the 19-year-old pop star, this is him in that mob surrendered to police in toronto in connection with the assault of a limo driver back in december. bieber had to push through all these people to get into the police station where he stayed for about 90 minutes. now, this came just a few hours

after his lawyers in florida entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. this was in miami beach on dui charges. and on top of this, an investigation is still ongoing in los angeles into whether mr. bieber was responsible for pelting a neighbor's home with eggs. more than 175,000 americans have now signed on to a petition on the white house website calling for justin bieber to be deported to canada. no official reaction yet from the obama administration, but the obama team says that when they get more than 100,000 signatures on these web petitions, it will respond. so, we can expect the white house to say something about justin bieber. >> i think you might be on to something. i just missed your initial comment about the belieber, the bieber sell-off, the bieber down market, but if you put a chart over a chart of his woes, they almost match.

>> conspiracy. interesting. coming up, judgment day for amanda knox, on trial for a third time in the murder of her roommate. could the now freed american be forced to return to jail in italy? we're live with this. plus, hundreds sick on board a caribbean cruise finally at home this morning. they're sharing their horror stories as we learn some surprising new information about this germ-ridden boat, next. welcome back. how is everything? there's nothing like being your own boss! and my customers are really liking your flat rate shipping.

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you can separate runway ridiculousness... from fashion that flies off the shelves. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle... and go. and only national is ranked highest in car rental customer satisfaction by j.d. power. (natalie) ooooh, i like your style. (vo) so do we, business pro. so do we. go national. go like a pro. developing this morning, amanda knox about to find out her fate. the american from seattle on trial again in italy for the murder of her roommate, charges she had been convicted of and cleared of before. now a new court very close to announcing another verdict, a verdict she is not in italy to hear in person. erin mclaughlin is live in florence this morning. erin, what's the latest? >> reporter: good morning, john.

the procedures began in the courthouse just behind me this morning. amanda knox's defense delivering their final closing statements, asking the court not to, in their words, convict two innocent people. following those closing arguments, the jury then retired to deliberate. amanda knox, of course, not present in court this morning, but her former boyfriend and fellow defendant, raffaele sollecito, did make an appearance. his father telling cnn that he was absolutely terrified to be here today, but he nevertheless wanted to face justice, even though he's legally not required to be present. both he and knox were originally convicted of the grisly murder of 21-year-old british student meredith kercher in 2009. that conviction then overturned in 2011 by an italian appellate court, but italy's supreme court was not happy with the acquittal decision, saying it was full of contradictions and deficiencies, and then ordered this new trial in florence, new appellate trial. now, all the old evidence back

on the table as well as some new forensic evidence and testimony, but none of that appearing to be game-changing. one factor that has changed from the previous two trials is the fact that knox has not been present for any of the proceedings. she remains at her home in seattle. she wrote an e-mail to the court saying that she was too afraid to return, too afraid to be wrongfully convicted. now, all of that is before a jury of six laypeople as well as two judges, currently in deliberations. john? >> so, deliberating right now. whatever they do decide, is this it? is it the final decision this time? >> reporter: this is not the final decision, john. both sides will have the opportunity to appeal to italy's supreme court, but remember, that is the very same supreme court that overturned the acquittal decision. that process could be months away. john? >> strange legal process there. erin mclaughlin, thank you so much for being with us this morning. again, we are awaiting that decision. could come any time today.

meanwhile, it will not be long until we find out if federal prosecutors will seek the death penalty against boston marathon bombing suspect dzhokhar tsarnaev. the justice department confirms that attorney general eric holder will announce a decision by tomorrow. tsarnaev faces 30 criminal counts for the april 15th bombing that killed three people and injured 260 others. breaking overnight, missouri's third execution this month. herbert smulls put to death by lethal injection last night for the 1991 murder of a st. louis jewelry shop owner. the u.s. supreme court granted a stay late tuesday to take up several appeals. the final appeal was rejected just 30 minutes before smulls was put to death. a massachusetts high school student charged with killing his teacher is expected back in court today. 15-year-old philip chism is set to be arraigned on additional charges in the case. police say chism has admitted that he raped 24-year-old colleen ritzer and then killed her with a box cutter. chism pleaded not guilty back in december. believe it or not, things

keep getting worse for toronto mayor rob ford. the admitted crack smoker now being sued for allegedly trying to have his sister's ex-boyfriend beaten up in prison. why would he want his sister's ex-boyfriend to be beaten up in prison? well, according to the suit, to keep mcintyre quiet about his drug use. he was accused of exposing his unsavory practices. ford's lawyers deny the accusations. >> today's rob ford installment. new developments in the chemical spill that prompted a water ban for west virginians this morning. officials are rejecting a scientist's claim that residents may have inhaled formaldehyde while showering. officials say the chemical that leaked into the water supply only produces formaldehyde at 500 degrees, which is way hotter than any shower. we're also watching developments this morning in california's massive drought. officials say 17 areas parched by a largely rainless winter, they could run completely dry within 100 days.

governor jerry brown declaring a state drought emergency this month. president obama called brown wednesday to pledge federal support to help lessen the drought's effects. a deep cleaning happening today on a cruise ship turned sick bay for hundreds and hundreds of passengers. "the explorer of the seas" is now back at port in new jersey after nearly 700 passengers and crew came down with some sort of stomach bug, likely norovirus. >> you could see absolutely everyone sitting there being sick in buckets, in bags. it was awful, and they just gave us a number to wait, and i had to wait three hours to be seen. >> we were looking forward to staying warm and being on our honeymoon and enjoying our time together, and we're never going to get that back. >> royal caribbean is giving passengers refunds and credits towards a future cruise. the ship will be off limits for 24 hours but is scheduled to head out again on its next journey on friday. >> their honeymoon! all right, it's an oscar

stunner. in a rare move, the nomination of one of the year's best song contenders "alone yet not alone" has been rescinded. the songwriter apparently violated academy rules by e-mailing members of its music branch during the nomination period to promote his little-heard tune from a little-seen movie of the same name. academy officials say there won't be a replacement nominee. >> when this happened, there were people who went nuts. it wasn't that they hadn't heard of the song, they hadn't even heard of the movie. they're like, what is going on here? well, now there could be an explanation. >> i'll say, all right. coming up, just three days until super bowl sunday. the teams are geared up, the fans are geared up, andy scholes is geared up. he joins us live from super bowl boulevard with earmuffs and all the pregame fever. that's next. ♪

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can you feel the anticipation? we are getting closer and closer and closer to super bowl sunday, just three days away now. meanwhile, times square in new york has been turned into an nfl dream world. even though it's not in the same city, let alone the same state as the super bowl. >> it's ten miles close, ten milesway. "bleacher report's" andy scholes live from super bowl boulevard, where for some reason, all of our producers are hanging around super bowl boulevard these days. how are you? >> reporter: hey, guys, i'm doing great. this is the place to be this week during the super bowl as we lead into the game. you know, 13 blocks here on broadway in times square have been transformed into super bowl boulevard. there are all kinds of fun things to do out here. how do i know?

well, i spent all day yesterday doing them. now, everything is free, except for the 60-foot toboggan run. that's going to cost you 5 bucks, but guys, i can tell you, that's probably the best $5 i've ever spent. so much fun. there's all kinds of other things you can do out here. you can kick a field goal, get autographs from nfl stars, take a picture with the lombardi trophy and much, much more. as for the broncos and seahawks, the fun and games are over. it's time to get down to business. just three more days of practice left before they hit the field at metlife stadium for the super bowl. yesterday the seahawks, they practiced again indoors, while the broncos, they're doing their best to try to get acclimated to the freezing temperatures, holding their practice outdoors at the jets practice facility. so, we all know the super bowl tickets are the hardest to come by in sports with the cheapest on stubhub going for about $1,600. so, how awesome would it be to get tickets for free? >> what?

what are you talking about? >> those are super bowl tickets. >> no. >> yeah. >> no, they're not. >> they're row 10. they're in the end zone. and we're staying 2 1/2 miles from the stadium in a homewood suites. >> no. >> yeah. >> no, it can't happen. >> it's going to. we're going to the super bowl, mom. >> aww, that's so great. that's vicki harris. she's a lifelong seahawks fan, and her son, mike, surprised her with super bowl tickets this week. now, she missed out on going to the nfc championship game back in 1983, because she was pregnant with him, but i'd say he's more than made up for that now, better returning the favor. watch out for the dogs, though, looks like they may want to go as well. everyone's aware by now of the snowstorm that basically shut down the city of atlanta. braves first baseman freddie freemanan was one of the people who got stuck in traffic, and that's when former teammate chipper jones jumped on his four-wheeler, camouflage and all, and he went on a rescue

mission, picked up freddy from the traffic nightmare, brought him home. you can see how this whole saga played out on bleacherreport.com. nice to see that chipper jones has found an activity to do in retirement. and guys, it's not very busy out here right now because it's, like, 5:20 in the morning, but it will get busy later. and after "new day," i think i'm going to get back in line for the toboggan run. i'll save you two spots. you have to meet me. >> i'll meet you there. i'm going at 7:30, so i will meet you there, 7:30, on the toboggan. >> reporter: all right, sounds good. >> manno aromano. >> that i want to see. thanks, andy. 27 minutes after the hour now. meanwhile, the news we've been following all morning, the south still frozen over this morning. this follows the deadly, deadly, chaotic day on the road. we will have the very latest as millions of people are waking up to this ice again. this is right after the break. [ male announcer ] if you have yet to master the quiet sneeze...

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the south still frozen this mortga morning, still iced over after a historic winter storm turning roads into skating rinks that left thousands stranded, kids sleeping in schools. this morning, there is hope. when the ice will finally melt. we will know when the cleanup begins. we're live. welcome back to "early start." i'm christine romans. >> i'm john berman. 31 minutes after the hour right now and we are following this developing story down south. in atlanta, across that region this morning, in some ways, it is the morning after, after one of the most difficult days they have had in recent memory. these pictures tell the whole story. residents trying to get moving

again after roads and many cities just paralyzed by a few inches of snow. today drivers will begin returning to their abandoned cars in atlanta. they had to just leave them on the roads after being stuck there for more than 20 hours in some cases. many children are waking up at home for the first time in two days after spending the night at their schools. it has been fatal, this weather, for some people. the death toll across the region stands at the least ten right now, this as the questions over responsibility and the consequences are mounting. our victor blackwell is live in atlanta for us this morning. victor, how do things look this morning? >> reporter: john, the atlanta metro area is virtually shut down. government offices closed, or at the very most, asking essential employees to come in. schools closed. a few are welcoming students back, but with a significant delay. georgia emergency management officials have issued a civil emergency alert, asking people to stay off the roads, unless there is an emergency. so, they're trying to clear the

patches of ice, the stretches of ice. and already this morning we've heard reports of crashes because of cars skidding on that ice. and this morning there is the recovery. you know, on tuesday when this storm hit, so many people, thousands of people abandoned their vehicles. they walked four, six, eight, ten miles to get home or to get to some warm place, often just a grocery store or a home depot that was open for the evening. now they have to get back to those vehicles. members of the national guard, the georgia state patrol, they're helping these people get back to their vehicles. unfortunately, in many cases, those vehicles have been towed. so, now they have to figure out which tow company has the vehicle, how much will it cost. so, it's a nightmare. you say it's the morning after, but the nightmare continues even this morning on day three, john. >> really got to get back to these cars. some may be out of gas, some might not start, some might not be there. victor, this does sound like an incredible mess, one officials in the area will have to answer to for some time to come. victor blackwell for us in atlanta, thank you so much.

>> so, there in atlanta they weren't going anywhere. the storm was bad for drivers who were going someplace, including the man behind the wheel of this car in woodstock, georgia. it spun out on a slippery road, hit a fire hydrant, then dropped into a sinkhole, a sinkhole full of water. >> the water kept flowing out from the hydrant. >> you got out of the car, got out safely. >> yeah. >> how long before this happened? >> probably 30 minutes. >> did you see it happen? >> yeah. i was back there and all my school stuff was in it, and i was like, uh. >> hmm. >> this is just one of thousands and thousands of accidents from alabama to virginia. check out that scene in virginia beach, which got hit with about 9 inches of snow. that's a car that hit a home. the driver and three people in the house had to go to the hospital. thankfully, none of the injuries are said to be serious. in north carolina, the snowfall is less than expected, but the problem is actually the cold. roads are frozen, so schools are closed and many offices are telling their workers today to stay home in north carolina. in alabama, more than 11,000

students had to spend the night at their schools. they are finally home this morning. the last of them finally making it back just a few hours ago. because of this weather, many districts there decided it was safer to keep the kids in school than send them back home during the storm. the principals and teachers at these schools did amazing work. also from alabama, this piece of good news, in spite of the bad. in birmingham, darshea jones went into labor two weeks early. she called an ambulance. the ambulance got into an accident. no ambulance. so, she had to call 911 to figure out what to do. the dispatcher went into coach mode, walking her and her boyfriend through exactly what to do at home. >> it don't even snow in alabama like this. >> i was thinking, like, oh, my god, what the heck are we going to do? >> she asked me, she said, have you of done this before? and she said no. we're going to do this together. and i heard the cry and i was like, i brought baby into the

world. >> dispatchers so cool under fire. they named the little baby, and i love this, john, winter. >> i like that. >> i love the look on the dad's face. love the look on the dad's face. >> yeah, that's the look most dads have on their face no matter what anyway, a look of sheer terror. >> that goes for about 18 years. >> exactly. 35 minutes after the hour. indra petersons is watching the forecast for us today. and really, the big question so many want to know, will it get better in the south? will it thaw out? >> yeah, they have to deal with the morning hours right now where temperatures are cooler, so still have moisture on the ground, more icing concerns in these early-morning hours. but again, as we go into the afternoon, conditions will improve as temperatures start to go up. very easy to see a 12-hour loop, the storm making its way offshore. just right now seeing showers left over in the florida area. might want to notice, though, on the west coast, look at this, big change. finally seeing some rain in california. but again, let's take you back down to the south where they do have a hard freeze this morning. what does that mean? temperatures many places below 20 degrees. so, of course, that's the reason for the concern in the morning hours, that anything left on the roads will freeze, especially

over bridgesoverpasses. southeast getting better by the afternoon, temperatures climbing today and through the next seferlz day, eventually to above normal. same thing in the northeast, conditions start to improve. but then again into the upper midwest, there comes the cold air again. they are used to it, and also snow into the mix. three systems, one, two, three, all the way through saturday, rolling on through, none of them too big, but minneapolis kind of a hotspot today, about 4 to 6 inches of snow. keep in mind also gusty winds, so 40, 50-mile-per-hour winds out there could mean a lot of blowing snow and poor visibility. another look out towards the west coast, i showed you that. this is the pattern they were stuck in forever, guys. definitely tough conditions out there. red flag warnings and fires, thanks to this huge dome of high pressure. that squashes down today. that's good news. they have rain, but it's the same guy we'll be watching to see whether or not we get showers on super bowl sunday. early this morning we had showers in the forecast. as of now, we don't. still a big question. >> all right, indra. >> stay tuned. president obama today taking his case to the american people, on the road in the milwaukee area and in nashville, trying to

drum up support for some of those programs he laid out in the state of the union address. this is a day after stops in maryland and pennsylvania. >> i'm hoping that congress goes along with this, but i'm not going to wait for congress. i could do more with congress, but i'm not going to not do anything without congress, not when it's about the basic security and dignity of american workers. >> one program already in the works, the president has directed the treasury secretary to make new rules for a starter retirement plan, a starter retirement plan to help lower-wage workers save for retirement. about half of american workers work for companies that don't offer a 401(k) or a retirement plan. the president says more people have to be invested so that they can build for retirement. >> the president's out there selling his plan. meanwhile, republicans are spending a second day at their annual winter retreat in maryland, where top leaders, including house speaker john boehner, plan to release a set

of principles for an immigration overhaul. this includes giving probationary status to many illegal immigrants, but they say they will only move towards making those principles law if the rank and file agree. that is a tall order. so, he says he's sorry. new york congressman michael grimm now apologizing to a reporter for threatening to throw him off a balcony, swearing at him and saying he'd break him in half like a boy. grimm made the threat just after the state of the union, when the reporter asked him about a campaign finance allegation. now, grimm initially defended his outburst, but now says he shouldn't have done that. >> this was an unfortunate incident that shouldn't have happened, and you know, i'm sure my italian mother is going to, you know, be yelling at me saying you weren't raised that way, and she's right. she's absolutely right. the bottom line is, i overreacted, and my emotions got the better of me. i lost my cool, and that shouldn't happen. >> grimm says the reporter has accepted his apology. the two are planning to have

lunch together some time next week. all right, u.s. stock futures show investors favoring wall street to asian markets this morning. there was a sharp sell-off in japan's nikkei overnight. the selling less ugly in london and stocks look to start the day positive here in the u.s., and we'll take that after a rough start to the year. all of this after word the federal reserve will slow the amount of cheap money it's slowing into the global economy. that worries investors in emerging markets. emerging markets that have depended on all of that stimulus for growth. but it is also a sign that the federal reserve believes the u.s. economy is doing better. we're going to hear more on just how the economy is faring later this morning with a reading on gross domestic product for the fourth quarter. there will also be a weekly report on jobless claims. both will be really important, sort of mile markers in the recovery here. all right, not worrying investors this morning, more trouble for justin bieber. in his native canada and also here in the united states. problems all over north america for justin bieber. in toronto, he had to push his way through this crowd to get into a police station.

why? he was surrendering in connection with the assault of a limo driver back in december. this happening in canada just a few hours after his lawyers in florida entered a not guilty plea on his behalf in miami beach on dui charges. now, in los angeles, stay with us. it is the bieber triangle. police are still looking into whether he was responsible for pelting a neighbor's home with eggs. and now the white house will likely respond to a petition on its website calling for justin bieber to be deported. why? well, more than 175,000 americans have signed this petition. the white house says it does respond to web petitions with more than 100,000 signatures, so expect some kind of statement, believe it or not, from the white house. all right, coming up, a neighbor's complaint leads to a shocking discovery inside a california teacher's home. it will make your skin crawl, the next story. whoo! right after the break. welcome back. how is everything?

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we should know by tomorrow if federal prosecutors will seek the death penalty against boston marathon bombing suspect dzhokhar tsarnaev. the justice department confirms attorney general eric holder will announce a decision by the end of this week. tsarnaev faces 30 criminal counts for the april 15th bombing that killed 3 people injured 260 others. breaking overnight, missouri has executed herbert smulls, who had been granted a last-minute stay by the supreme court. that stay was lifted late wednesday and smulls was put to death by lethal injection for the 1989 murder of a st. louis jewelry store owner. due in court today, a massachusetts high school student charged with killing his teacher. 15-year-old philip chism is set to be arraigned on additional charges in the murder of 24-year-old colleen ritzer. police say he raped his teacher, and they claim he admitted to killing her, apparently with a box cutter. chism pleaded not guilty in

december. this morning we are finding out more about the deadly shooting at a maryland mall. police say they have found no connection between darion aguilar and the two people shot and killed at a skateboard shop over the weekend, but they do say he wrote in his journal about killing people and he said that he was ready to die. aguilar took his own life after the shooting. toronto mayor rob ford is in legal trouble. the admitted crack smoker now being sued for allegedly trying to have his sister's ex-boyfriend beaten up in prison. the suit claims ford wanted to keep scott mcintyre quiet about ford's abuse of drugs and alcohol. mcintyre was jailed for threatening the mayor, saying he would expose his "unsavory practices." ford's lawyers deny the accusations. near los angeles, a school teacher is facing charges this morning after police raided his home and pulled out hundreds and hundreds of snakes, both living and dead. >> it was unfortunate.

>> we have a search warrant! come to the front door! >> the stench is overwhelming, and everybody who comes to the house for a party is just, like, they don't want to come. it's like, what's that smell? smells like something's dead. >> they're very cold, and it appears that most of them haven't eaten in quite a while. there's various stages of dying and dead and underweight. >> which she says while holding a very large snake. william buckman was arrested but has not appeared in court yet. he is an elementary school teacher in newport beach. a neighbor says that buckman used to breed snakes, but it is not clear why he had so many in his home now, hundreds and hundreds. >> i think i saw a count of 700 snakes in that house. >> christine romans will never be the same again. let's take a look at what's coming up on "new day." chris cuomo with us. >> chris cuomo. >> hi, my friends, how are you? >> good, except that we're freaked out by the snakes. other than that, we're great. >> we're going to be talking about the weather this morning, the snowstorm crippling the south.

why? why is it taking so long? why are cars still there? and you hear about people being trapped for hours. you think, hours, that wouldn't be bad. imagine 18 hours. that's a whole day. imagine doing it with a 6-month-old baby and limited provisions. how did they get through the night? you'll meet them on the show and hear their story. plus, hear from good samaritans who did the right thing. and you're going to hear the questions of accountability, because somebody here -- here's a surprise -- did the wrong thing, okay? this should not have happened. it's not the way you're supposed to have planning, especially in america's ninth largest city. so, we're going to talk about that. we're also going to talk about how to keep the city and the game safe, okay? security's a big deal. we talk about it with the olympics upcoming all the time. we have rare access inside the fbi command center on super bowl boulevard. we're going to show you the high-tech lengths they're going to to prevent an attack here in the city, in new jersey and at the game itself. how's that. >> really cool. interesting to see that. thanks so much, chris. coming up for us next, hundreds sick on board a cruise ship in the caribbean.

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happening today, a deep cleaning for a cruise ship where hundreds of passengers got sick. "the explorer of the seas" now docked again in new jersey after nearly 700 passengers and crew came down with some sort of a stomach bug, likely norovirus. >> you could see absolutely everyone sitting there being sick in buckets, in bags. it was awful. and they just gave us a number to wait, and i had to wait three hours to be seen. >> we were looking forward to staying warm and being on our honeymoon and enjoying our time together, and we're never going to get that back. >> royal caribbean is giving

passengers refunds and credit toward a future cruise. the ship will be off limits for 24 hours, but it is scheduled to head out again on its next journey tomorrow, on friday. this morning, state and water company officials in west virginia are rejecting new claims over just how dangerous a chemical spill was into the water supply, saying it's unlikely residents inhaled formaldehyde while showering. the officials say that chemical leaked into the water supply only produces formaldehyde at 500 degrees, and that's way hotter than any shower. coming up, a very happy birthday for facebook! profits up, but the future may not be so bright. i've got that story for you in "money time." i always say be the man with the plan

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good morning! welcome back to "early start." it's "money time." we've got stock futures showing maybe some stabilization on wall street. maybe investors can breathe a little easier today after those big, recent, sharp losses. stocks look like they're going to open higher. dow futures are higher this morning. the market in london slightly lower. in asia overnight, a really ugly, ugly morning, a sharp sell-off in japan's nikkei. here in the u.s. today, we'll hear more about the health of corporate america and the u.s. economy later this morning. we've got a number of brand name companies, including u.p.s., exxonmobil, they're going to let us peek under the hood of their financial condition. they're going to have quarterly results out. the government releases its first snapshot of gross domestic product for the fourth quarter, so that could be a market mover. that's at 8:30. quite the birthday gift for facebook. the social media giant turned 10

on wednesday. facebook is getting long in the tooth. it recorded record results, even better than what wall street had expected. the news came after the closing bell on wall street yesterday, and facebook's stock is soaring in premarket trading. it is up 12%. facebook says it now has 1.2 billion users. that's a big number. but the pace at which it's adding users isn't keeping up with past quarters. watch that. a lot of questions about how the age of their users, too, they want that really young, young user, and there's not as much good growth there. all right, hottest money story this morning, no question. google selling its motorola mobility smartphone opportunito lenovo. it's been a money loser for google, which it bought just about a year and a half ago, and it's a muscle move for lenovo. lenovo already the world's largest pc-maker. with this purchase, it says it will now challenge apple and samsung in the smartphone market.

google stock is up more than 2% in premarket ice was awful. i much fallen five times. >> frozen city. thousands of cars still littering atlanta's highways. schools and businesses remain closed. we have new details on commuters' horrors. decision day. the jury in amanda knox's retrial now has the case. what happens if they find her guilty. super security. we have rare access inside the fbi's command center ahead of sunday's big game. the new technology they're using to keep the city safe. your "new day" starts right now.

good morning. welcome to "new day." it's thursday, january 30th. 6:00 in the east. and we begin in atlanta because simply it's not over. the nation's ninth largest city still choked in ice from a perfect storm. for hundreds of people, they're saying today is the first chance to retrieve their cars. even though cops say they may not even be where the people left them. people are nand e demanding to now how 2 inches of snow shut down their city. carol costello is living the situation in atlanta. who's going to step up and take responsibility so you figure out how to do better the next time. >> reporter: there is a lot of soul searching going on. e