this morning on "early today" -- winter whiteout. a major snowstorm pummels the northeast, slicking up roads and shutting down airports. tourist tragedy. eight americans die in a horrific bus crash in egypt. and facing eviction. why the california woman known as octomom and her 14 children may soon be thrown out of their home. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and a very good morning to you. welcome to our viewers across the nation including the pick time zone. i'm veronica de la cruz. today we begin with the blizzard of 2010. it will be a day of digging out

from a monster snowstorm that has simply buried the northeast, and for anyone trying to return home from the holidays, the storm certainly won't make it easy. nbc's tracie potts has more from washington. >> reporter: with a foot or more of snow traffic's at a standstill in new york. fierce winds left visibility at barely a quarter mile. >> we're doing everything we can here in the city to keep our roads safe and clear. >> reporter: all three of the city's major airports, shut down. travelers there and in boston ended up spending the night, hoping for a flight home. >> they're all booked. and 25 to 50 people on standby. >> reporter: grocery stores and hardware stores were packed. >> no shovels. washer fluid. rock salt. ice scrapers. sold a lot of them. >> reporter: atlantic city got 19 inches. >> this is really a blizzard. >> ridiculous out here. i don't think anybody can make it in this snow. >> reporter: to be safe, the eagles/vikings game in philadelphia was cancelled amid

forecasts that the blizzard would hit right at kickoff. >> these are probably not the conditions that you want to have a game under. >> reporter: but it wasn't just up north. the south got hammered. in the carolinas, southern drivers not eyesed to this much snow tried to have fun and be safe. >> i'm going to have to drive today, just have to take it easy. >> reporter: nearly a foot of snow fell in norfolk, virginia, third biggest storm there in a century. made for a beautiful scene as far south as georgia. tracie potts, nbc news, washington. right over to nbc meteorologist bill karins, tracking a small storm for usbill, what happens next? >> well, now we have to do the cleanup. it's going to be difficult, bay it's so cold and windy. an historical sorm storm. from new jersey, newark airport to southern portions of newark state and connecticut, all of those areas picked up between one to two feet of snow. very impressive. >> now it is centered right over

the top of cape cod. here are some the of snowfall totals. yaup date and getting additional reports. newark, new jersey, 20 inches. 13, central park, boston 11, still counting. baltimore and washington, d.c. missed out. only picked up a half inch to an inch. still snowing out there bet definitely lightened up in intensity. new york city just about done. heaviest during the day today in vermont, areas of maine and even boston could end up with a couple additional inches of snow added. as far as wind gusts, we had winds gusting to 80 miles per hour at the peak of the store prp hurricane force winds out on cape cod. numerous trees are down. that's the biggest problem for iran everyone in this region. a light powdery snow. not a fun day for kids at all. windchills, single digits. windy all day, too. so no one will be out sledding quite yet. more or less towards tomorrow.

>> hopefully tomorrow will be different. >> airports none opening until later today. jfk airport knoll even opening until 4:00, 5:00. >> leaving people stranded. thanks, bill. the u.s. embassy in egypt says it is, quote, deeply saddened by a traffic accident that killed eight americans and injured more than 20 others yesterday. officials say the group tour bus was traveling to an ancient temple site in the southern part of the country when it collided with a damaged track parked on the side of the road. such incidents are common in egypt where an estimated 8,000 people are killed every year because of poor road conditions and laxed regulations. here's an early look at some other stories making news in america -- arizona police a homeowner suffer add frighteningly close call yesterday after a truck plowed through his home. authorities say the vehicle just barely missed the man, who was up late watching tv at the time. investigators on the scene say the driver may not have realized the street came to a dead end. frigid temperatures in pennsylvania couldn't stop

george washington from making his christmas day ride across the delaware river. for the 58th straight year, actors re-enacted the daring 1776 crossing of the river that famously turned the tide of the revolutionary war. this year, hundreds gathered to hear washington stand and deliver words to the troops and watch three boats make the crossing from pennsylvania to new jersey. and who says you can't get anything for free anymore? an orlando church gave away $11 of free gas this weekend to 100 lucky drivers. officials say the gesture was a small way of showing the community that there is, indeed, a bright future ahead. very kind. right now for a look at your national and regional weather once again here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel's forecast. all right, bill. so you and me after the snow today, snow angels. >> not me. no way. i'm done. i shoveled this morning early. that's it for me.

talk about what's happening out west, because often the case from the weather, stormy on the east coast, it's quiet on the west. that hasn't quite been the scene. still have unsettled conditions, a storm pulled up in british columbia. weather is changing. high pressure moving in, warm front trying to make it through the middle of country. some of that warmer pacific air moving through the central u.s. nothing too frigid out there this morning. what has been amazing is the month of december. not quite done yet, but look at the rainfall totals. of course, the huge storm last week. l.a. almost up to 9 1/2 inches of rain for december. that's more than seattle who has 8 inches so far this month, and even areas like vegas picking up almost 2 inches. impressive. not a ton of rain throughout the next few days. showery weather up in the northwest today. cool in l.a. calm it 67. phoenix chilly, too, at 66 degrees and a quick peak at tomorrow does show more unsettled weather in the northwest, but still dry in southern california.

that's a quick look athroug the west. give you an update on the forecast for hawaii and alaska. we'll give our friends a shout-out when we come back a little later. >> hawaii sounds good. thanks, bill. a chinese rate hike, good year for stocks and black listing bad gift givers. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, over the weekend ben stiller and robert de niro proved they are still a dynamic duo at the box office. plus, vikings and eagles are snowed out. the giants are blown out. and donovan mcnabb wants out. you're watching "early today."

well, good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm veronica de la cruz. here are some of your top headlines this morning -- u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon is condemning the, quote, deplorable acts of violence that left 38 people dead in nigeria over christmas weekend. a radical muslim sect is believed to have carried out several bomb blasts, which triggered deadly ethnic clashes between muslim and christian communities in the region. south korean's proceed is vowing a relentless retaliation against the north if provoked again saying this morning he's not afraid of war with a communist state. the two koreas have both ramped up their rhetoric since the north's shelling of an island near the border last month, which killed four south koreans. wikileaks founder julian assange has reportedly signed a book deal for $1.5 million. assange, who is currently fighting extradition to sweden on accusations of sexual misconduct, told the "sunday

times" of london that he was writing the book to cover his legal costs and help finance his website. and the man who owns the california home of nadya suleman, the so-called octomom, says he is ready to go ahead with eviction proceedings. he says he'll force suleman out of her home if she and her lawyer don't make a long overview $450,000 payment on the house by this friday. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day after the long holiday weekend. the dow opens at 11,573, after adding 14 points thursday. the s&p shed two points and the nasdaq dips five. taking a look at overseas trading this morning in tokyo the nikkei gained 76 points. in hong kong, the hang seng fell 69. we're heading into the last week of trade for 2010, investors may not have it all but they definitely do have optimism. one investor sentiment survey

measuring the percentage of investors who are bullish, bearish or neutral about stocks for the next six months found optimism at its highest level since november 2004 and pessimism at its lowest level since november 2005. so far, for the year, the dow is up 11%. the s&p has gained 12.7% and the nasdaq is ahead 17.5. one thing that might start markets off badly, china's christmas day interest rate increase. while the hike wasn't unexpected, its exact timing was a surprise. another potential party pooper, oil. bloomberg reports supplies may come back to the gulf coast next month slowing the drive toward $100 a barrel after stockpiles saw the worst fall in 30 years this month as refiners sought to avoid year-end tax liabilities, but that didn't stop kuwait's oil minister from suggesting the global economy can withstand the price of oil at $100 a barrel. oil producers meeting this weekend in cairo decided not increase production anytime soon, but analysts expect some countries

will eventually raise output. looking ahead to the week's economic data -- on tuesday we'll get home prices and consumer confidence numbers. thursday we'll see jobless claims and pending home sales. finally, those hideous sweaters sent by relatives could soon be a thing of christmas past. amazon.com is working on innovation that would let people return gifts bought online before they receive them. consumers would create an online list of lousy gift givers, and their choices would be vetted before anything ships. wow. you better watch out. the giants didn't win. so they're not in. tom brady is nearly perfect. and hail to the chiefs. plus, the jets get upended in more ways than one. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. behind our departing blizzard will be one of the coldest nights of the season all the way down into florida. your regional forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

well, good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports -- an nfl game rarely gets postponed, but with the weather dominating the eastern seaboard, that is exactly what happened last night in philly. here's nbc's mario solace with an early look at all the sports headlines. >> hi there. good morning. for the second straight week the vikings have been overshadowed by mother nature. last night's game in philadelphia was snowed out.

the eagles will host the vikes tuesday night on nbc. no game needed for the eagles to clinch the nfc east. the packers did it for them. they beat up the giants, aaron rodgers back from a concussion and had a day to remember, throwing four touchdowns and a career high 404 yards through the air. his counterpart eli manning would like to forget this one. he was picked off four times. packers win big 45-17. a shoot-out in chicago between the jets and bears. third quarter mark sanchez rolls right and finds santonio holmes for the end zone. ties it at 31. jay cutler in the third throwing three touchdowns in the quarter. bears win 38-34 but all is not lost for the jets. the redskins nails a 31-yard field goal in overtime to beat the jaguars. the jets are back in the playoffs. the jags are out. and donovan mcnabb wants out. he's asking to be released from the redskins. the patriots clinching the top spot in the afc with a win

over the bills. tom brady setting the record for most consecutive pass attempts without a turnover. now that's a mouthful and it is also a record, pats win big 34-3. chiefs win control of their playoff fate taking on the titans. matt cassel running across the middle, and watch bo go 75 yards to the house. they clinch the afc west, thanks to the bengals. they upset the chargers in cincy. the bengals were without ochocinco and no terrell owens but they had jerome simpson. he scored a pair of touchdowns. the bengals won 34-20. and maybe tim tebow can be an nfl quarterback after all. he led a 17-point comeback against the texans running in the game winner late in the fourth quarter. broncos rallied to win 44-23. and that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solace. the original playboy has finally decides to settle down. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, a connecticut seventh grader rallies her schoolmates all in the name of sisterly love. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. in hawaii, actually a pretty woet month. more rain likely today. especially the northern, chance of definitely oahu and maui. big island looks okay. alaska, typical cold for this time of year. very cold in fairbanks. anchorage, 17. juno has the stormier weather. hances of snow there, 27 degrees. now in the west coast today,

just showers. the bigger rainstorm moves in tuesday night. showers from seattle to portland, dry in much of southern california to the valley, san francisco southwards. as i mentioned, as we get to tuesday, more significant rain storm moves onshore here. san francisco tuesday night could get pretty good rain. temperatures mild, snow levels high once again. if you're watching on tv 17 bakersfield, california, even if the holiday weekend is over, enjoy a holiday light show. head over to the california living museum where proceeds go to animals in need from holiday lifts. that's your pick event of the day, veronica. >> every day can be a little like christmas. right? >> i'm waiting for my present from you rn. >> all right, bill. here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment -- itting loose like the fockers franchise still has some life left in it. "little fockers" pulled in an estimated $34 million over the three-day weekend and a little over $48 million since its opening on wednesday. the prequel was a bit of a

disappointment, however, falling well short of the $70 million opening for the original film "meet the parents." the big success of the weekend was the coen brothers' "true grit." starring bridges. it debuted at number two with a better than expected $25.6 million and a five-day gross of $36.8 million. the movie gave joel and ethan coen their best opening weekend ever. and "tron: legacy," which also stars jeff bridges came in third with $20.1 million, down more than 54% from its opening. finally it is never too late for love. 84-year-old "playboy" founder hugh hefner announced over twitter on sunday that he is engaged to his 24-year-old playmate girlfriend crystal harris. this will be hef's third marriage. you nerve never know, bill. what do they say? third time can about charm? >> seems heed he's been married

to the same woman the whole time. they all look exactly the same. >> all right. i have nothing to say to that. it's now coming to us from wvit-tv in connecticut. where in nearby montville, a seventh grader went above and beyond to help a soldier close to her heart. jeremy was paralyzed after being hit by a sniper's bullet in afghanistan this past september. so his stepsister taylor and her classmates raised enough money to send him an ipad along with hundreds of dollars in gift cards to help him communicate with his friends here and overseas. i'm veronica de la cruz. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today, on your nbc station.

in germany, it's a tradition that helps shed some postholiday guilt. each year a group of runners sign up to run off their extra seasonal pounds in an annual day after christmas race. this year, runners braved the snow to take part. it is tradition in germany to eat goose for christmas, so who better to lead the way than santa, carrying a stuffed goose. the holidays are celebrated all over the globe and even below the surface. in russia, one group of divers had their party underwater in a frigid lake. instead of exchanging gifts they celebrated by taking a swig of champagne at a depth of 164 feet. they later joined hands to form

a circle wearing festive hats to top off that scuba gear. very cool. icy temperatures couldn't put the freeze on swimmers in prague, either. the city's winter swim club brought out folks for an annual competition. swimmers from the ages of 13 to 81 years old bravely peeled off their winter wares and suited up and despite the frigid 36 degree water it may have even felt warm compared to the temperature of the air measuring a brisk 21 degrees. some brave souls out there. what do you say, bill? you and me, next christmas. >> i've never done that and never will. i've heard occasionally some random people if you have a bad heart or something you could have a heart attack. i'm not taking any chances. >> yeah, yeah. i'm with you on that one. >> fireplace. time for a look at some of the stories we are going to be following throughout the day here at nbc -- across the northeast, residents will be spending the day digging out from the massive snowstorm. if you're heading to the airport today, before you leave, be sure to check with your airline for delays. snow certainly not a problem

for president obama and the first family. they are continuing an 11-day holiday vacation in hawaii, where the president was born. and a milestone for a new york landmark right here across the street from nbc studios. today marks the 78th anniversary of the opening of radio city music hall. home of the rockettes. and all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." and finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. the very latest in the case of an aspiring young model found dead in a mansion of the anheuser-busch heir. and the survivor of that tragic egypt tour bus crash speaks out live from cairo. now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and much more. i'm veronica de la cruz. thank you so much for watching "early today." just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a terrific monday.

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