"jimmy fallon" happening right [ cheers and applause ] this morning on "early today" -- wallop in the west. a winter storm system slaps parts of the country with heavy snow, fierce winds and drenching rain. virginia stickup. security video captures a bizarre convenience store robbery. and happy new year. new zealanders bring it in with a spectacular fireworks display. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry, and today we begin with a western washout.

with the east coast still reeling from a blizzard earlier this week, now it's the western states' turn. a storm pummeled states from washington to arizona with fierce winds, heavy rain and more than two feet of snow. as nbc's kurt grerg grerg grego reports, in some cases, deadly outcomes. >> reporter: for two days, search teams braved near whiteout conditions looking for a missing snowboarder near lake tahoe. the search came to a tragic end when the body of shawnte willis was discovered in a tree well. >> the weather did not cooperate with us at all. it fought us every step of the way. >> reporter: heavy winds the big problem in southern california. gusts up to 60 miles per hour toppled trees and power lines. >> we heard the wind blowing real, real hard. all of a sudden, crash. >> reporter: the storm dumped heavy snow in arizona. 1 0 miles of i-40 closed.

and would you believe snow in phoenix? seeing is believing. in utah, ice and a heightened avalanche threat forced road closures, including i-15, a major highway. >> i knew it would be bad, but i didn't know it was going to be quite as icy. >> reporter: more treacherous driving conditions in north dakota. a 100-car pileup shut down i-94. the system moving east with strong storms in the forecast for the midwest on new year's eve. kurt gregory, nbc news. and we are now just hours away from ringing in the new year. it is already 2011 in new zealand where stunning fireworks lit up the sky earlier this morning. but the sight of the biggest celebration of all will be new york's times square, where nearly 1 million revelers are expected to watch the iconic now crystal ball drop, and nbc's wendy jillette joins us now from times square with more. quiet now. that's going to change in a few hours. >> reporter: oh, yes. that's definitely true, lynn.

it is very quiet right now, but in a few hours people from all over the world will be in the streets, all saying good-bye to 2010. here can you see the line of security barricades. they pretty much go all the way back here and aim the way back on all the avenues and streets. with probably a couple dozen blocks in this area and they are here, of course, to barricade everyone who's coming in. there's going to be close to 1 million people here in times square, if you can believe that. all of these people in. they have then all over the city in pens. once you get a pen you can't leave. makes for uncomfortable situations. now, the snow is affecting how they've been setting up last night and today, because you can see here, there is still a mound of snow, and we see mounds of snow like this all over the city. the streets are generally fairly clear, but then you still have the mounds. so people are going to have to fight against that as well. but with all the people coming in, all ever the body heat, that's probably going to melt it

later today. >> yeah. let's hope so. wendy, thanks so much and happy new year to you. be sure to watch incomes's new year's special with carson daly beginning tonight at 10:00 p.m. eastern time right here on your nbc station. >> now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america -- newly released dash cam video shows a deadly shoot-out between atf agents and a motorcycle gang member charged with crimes ranging from attempted murder to racketeering. agents fired 20 rounds killing the suspect who an investigation determined fired six. the attorney general's office ruled that the shooting was justified. in virginia, a mass robber faced off with a store owner. the suspect charged in holding a large stick. the startled store owner grabbed a hammer. each held their ground for several minutes, but the suspect made the first move, beating the store owner and making off with an unknown amount of cash.

a virginia woman is behind bars for assaulting a fellow passenger on a city bus. she signaled for the bus to stop. when it did she launched into a seemingly unprovoked attack beating a woman seated behind the driver. the suspect ran away, but was later arrested after the video was released. in pennsylvania, it took a half a dozen men to corral one loose bull found in a woman's backyard. the animal held off the handlers and police for quite a while, but was eventually tranquilized and captured. the bull and 12 others that escaped from a nearby farm are safely back in their pens. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. bill, good morning. >> lynn, i still can't get over the robbery. that's not a stick. that looked like a tree. >> exactly. like a hockey stick is more like it. >> pretty funny stuff. glad they didn't get too hurt.

happening in the west, brrr is the word. it is cold everywhere. blizzard warning, colorado northward all the way up to the dakotas, nailed by this storm. with any big winter storm, especially this time of year, once it goes by, the storms are so strong it helps pull down the cold air from canada. that's exactly what's happening today. a very chilly morning. look at the pictures with the snow as far out as phoenix and arizona. flag stov nailed. grand canyon picked up a foot of snow. an all-out big winter storm. check out the temperatures this morning. 32 in vegas. it's 33 in phoenix right now. very cold for them. 17 in albuquerque, not taking into effect the windchill. it's minus 16 in denver. that's bad, of course. 22 in vegas. a very cold morning to led out there on the strip. as far as the forecast goes for today, tough to warm it up in the west. most areas in the 30s, including downtown vegas. that's a look at your new

55. prescott, arizona only 32 after some snow yesterday. new year's day forecast coming up, lynn, bill, thanks so much. also coming up, more good economic news. a new internet champ and no more nice bright colors. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead, plus there's something very important paula abdul wants you to know about her. the uconn streak doused, a wild finish in college football and an update on kevin garnett's injury. you're watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome

back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning -- "the washington post" reports this morning that across the country errors recorded by air traffic controllers increased by more than half this year. in some cases, causing planes to narrowly avoid fatal consequences. air traffic controllers in the region surrounding the nation's capital who direct more than 1.5 million flights made a record number of mistakes this year. authorities in australia are warning that floods already devastating the country will worsen in the coming days with more damage expected across the continent. more than 200,000 people have been affected by relentless rain with the flooding zone stretching over an area bigger than france and germany combined. dramatic video out of china shows two workers dangling from a building's window as they try and escape intense flames and smoke from a factory fire. they both dropped two stories to the ground and are believed to

have survived. and queen elizabeth of england has become a great-grandmother for the very first time. after her grandson's wife autumn phillips gave birth to a baby girl. incidentally that newborn now knocks her aunt, the recently engaged zara phillips, down to 13th in line to the throne. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day -- the dow opens at 11,569 after falling 15 points yesterday. the s&p shed 1 point. the nasdaq dipped 3. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei dropped 115 points. but in hong kong, the hang seng added 36. stocks close lower in light trade thursday as not even a slew of positive economic reports could entice investors to risk their year-end gains. many sold profits. most considered thursday the

last real day of trade, because few are expected to show up today on new year's eve. only energy and telecommunication shares posted gains among the ten industry groups on the s&p. all that despite excellent data. last week's new first time unemployment claims dropped to the lowest level since july 2008. business activity in the midwest rose to its highest level since july 1988. and november's pending home sales rose more than anticipated. but mortgage rates are creeping up. the average rate on 30-year fixed mortgages rose this week to 4.86%. highest in seven months. oil fell almost 2% to well under $90 a barrel on the latest inventory data. struggling book seller borders delayed payment to some of its venters. chrysler recalled about 150,000 trucks and suvs yesterday to address steering, air bag and stalling problems.

steven ratner, a banker who helped lead the auto industry overhaul agreed to pay $10 million to settle influence pedalling allegations in new york. minnesota has sued 3m for contaminating the state's water for decades with chemicals used in some of its best known products, including scotch guard. facebook passed google for the first time as the nation's most visited website for most of 2010. and finally, kodachrome color coded film has officially hit the end of the road. dwayne's photo in parson's, kansas, the last developer in the world developed its last roll on thursday. the end of an era. coming up, boston loses the big ticket. syracuse earns its stripes, and another miracle finish in the music city. plus, stanford was the last to beat uconn before the huskies reeled off 90 straight wins. could the cardinals do it again? your early morning sports

headlines are just ahead. we've had a stormy end of december. january, looks like it will start off nice and quiet. your forecast coming up. your watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today."

in sports, last night in a matchup of women's basketball powerhouses, any way you sliced it, a major streak would come to an end. here's nbc's mario solis with a look at all your sports headlines. hi there. good morning. the uconn women's basketball team had a 90-game win streak. number one stanford, a win streak. something had to hit. the longest win streak in college basketball is over. the cardinal's jeanette poland, too much for the huskies. career high 39 points. stanford the last team to beat them in 2008 to win again 71-59. to the nba, boston's kevin garnett will be out two weeks after an mri showed a strained calf muscle. garnett suffered the injury wednesday night against detroit. the jets meantime fined $100,000 by the nfl after assistant coach sal alosi tripped miami's nolan carroll during a punt return earlier this month. alosi has since been suspended indefinitely by the team. syracuse and state playing the pinstripe bowl at the new

yankees' stadium. carson kaufman hooking up with adrian for the score. he salutes to the crowd, drawing a flag for excessive celebration. tough break, because this time coughlin overthrows him in the end zone. syracuse wins their first bowl game since 2001, 36-34, the final. the music city bowl, north carolina at carolina. decides to spike it with too many men on the field. the referee says time ran out. that's the ball game. tennessee celebrating. but hold everything, north carolina did spike the ball with one second left. after getting pushed back five yards for the penalty, casey nails the 40-yard field goal sending this into overtime. tied at 27. in double o.t., this time a 27-yard kick. what a turn of events. north carolina wins it, 30-27.

that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. yet another longtime showbiz couple bites the dust. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, when you can't get to the ball, make the ball come to you. you're watching "early today."

were back.

the big storm exited. cold air behind. no one spared. everyone has below average temperatures, exceptionally cold in arizona up through vegas, even new snow on the ground for people in northern arizona. seattle, 36. cold windchill early this morning. everyone wring ringing in the new year, dry conditions an cool. shouldn't see many issues. we start the first day of 2011 with showers. a storm offshore. it moves onshore to coastal california, overall, looks like a decent saturday. if you're watching on kge tv nbc 17 on bakersfield, california, check out uniquely ours in exhibit show casing area architecture including homes designed by frank lloyd write at the bakersfield museum of art. that's your pacific event of the day, lynn. >> bill, thanks so much. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment -- with no new big films at the box office this weekend, look for last weekend's top two to switch places.

the western remake "true grit" checked in at a hair under $25 million last weekend, and experts think it will take in around the same this weekend. thus urning the top spot. "little fockers" should earn around $20 million, maybe less for second place. elsewhere, after 20 years together, 18 of them married, john mellencamp and is his wife elaine announced through a spokesperson they are, quote, calling it a day as a couple. radar online reports earlier this year marc anthony owed uncle sam $3.5 million in back taxes. anthony was fined $.5 million in 2007 for not paying taxes for four years. finally in an upcoming cbs interview, paula abdul insists she is intelligent. she says she's never been drunk in her life, doesn't use recreational drugs, but does admit to being goofy. that's what she calls it.

she says, i'm goofy. >> yeah. i saw an interview clip of her a couple years ago that may argue the point she just made. if inwants to find it. >> you know what it is, exactly. >> whew! entertaining. this comes to us from wdtn, channel 2 in dayton, ohio, where in nearby centerville, it will be a new york style new year. jackson created a replica of the times square ball, and he plans to make his own drop on new year's eve. the sparkling ball is two feet in diameter made of 75 l.e.d. cut triangles. way to go jackson. the technical theater major says it's just a hobby, but a times square celebration in ohio is pretty cool. i'm lynn berry and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station.

looking for luck in the new year? you may want to head to peru. that's where an annual fair is filled with rituals thought to bring good things for 2011. bills are given out to attract money, good luck charms sold, and participants shower themselves in rose petals. do you want to know if it works? fortune tellers are on hand. an age-old tradition in scotland brings together thousands to spark off the new year, literally. over 20 25,000 people gathered in edinburgh to asset viking ship on fire. accompanied by pipe bands, torch carriers burn up the ceremonial ship. the event kicks off a four-day

celebration of the new year. japan is also gearing up for the holiday. chefs across the country are working carefully to prepare a favorite delicacy. blowfish which locals refer to as loch is notoriously lethal. the winter dish is in high demand so specially trained chefs are taking care to remove the toxic poison. they're slicing up blowfish in time to deliver to families. i don't know if i would trust anyone to take out toxic poison from my food. >> here's what we'll do. we'll order it. you eat it first. five minutes later, i'll sample it. >> i don't know if i like that idea, bill. i'm a beef eater. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. today is the deadline for people with medicare to decide how they wish to get their medicare health benefits for next year. and whether to choose or change medicare drug plan. rio de janeiro will unveil the logo of the 2016 olympics at

a new year's party on its world famous copacabana beach. 2 million are expected to attend. and the 25-year-old medal of honor recipient staff sergeant sal guinta will join new york's mayor in new york times square with the honor of pressing the ceremonial ball that ushers in the new year. 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. an exclusive interview with the mother of two jailed sisters being granted parole in exchange for a kidney donation. and from the olympics to the summer concert series, a look back at today's highlights from 2010. now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a good one.

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