this morning on "early today" -- house call. president obama prepares for a major changing of the guard in congress. rough waters. the commander of a u.s. naval warship comes under fire after some raunchy videos surfaced. and dead of night. wildlife officials try to figure out why thousands of blackbirds have fallen from the sky in arkansas. 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 day one. president obama returned from his hawaiian vacation to a new reality in washington. republicans control the house, and promises for some gop leaders should undo several of his legislative victories. but with the democrats still in control of the senate, the moves face inevitable roadblocks. incomes's tracie potts has more from washington. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: hi there, lynn. good morning. good morning, everyone. yes, they're back in action on capitol hill and this week, expecting to hear about the debt and dell ceiling and republicans talking about less spoending here in washington starting with health care. house republicans will vote soon on whether to get rid of health reform. >> that will happen before the president's state of the union address. >> adding to the deficit by repealing health care on the attempt is irresponsible. >> reporter: it's the deficit they'll fight over next. we're very close a $13.3 trillion dead ceiling set by law, meaning the government

could borrow no more. congress can raise that limit, but lieutenant they. >> i'm not voting for a debt increase until we go back to 2008 spending levels. >> reporter: the new chair thinks there's plenty to cut. >> $500 million here, $500 million there. that's $1 billion. >> we are going to have to make in the medium run a series of tough choices and the president's not afraid to do that. >> reporter: the fear if we hit the debt ceiling some economists say could happen before june the u.s. could default ons obligations triggering a government shutdown. >> we are not looking to shut the government down. >> reporter: so republicans are poised 20 take over at least half of congress. one-half of congress here, starting this week. lynn? >> tracie potts in washington. tracie, thank you. the navy is launching a new probe into what it calls clearly inappropriate videos, created and shown aboard the aircraft carrier "uss enterprise" four to five years ago, but just now publicly released.

the videos, which include frequent sexual references, and a number of anti-gay slurs, were apparently produced as a morale booster by or with the consent of the current commander of the ship, captain owen honors. at the time, senior navy officials were aware of the footage, but no formal disciplinary action was taken. although the "enterprise" is set to deploy in a few weeks, it is now unclear if honors will be at the helm when it sails. in australia, it's being called a disaster of biblical proportions. at least three people are dead and up to 200,000 affected by massive flooding covering an area bigger than the size of texas. this morning, military planes are flying in food and other supplies to those unable to evacuate, as entire cities are cut off by the waters. and officials are warning more rain is expected in the already devastated areas.

now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america -- dramatic video out of ohio shows the deadly exchange between law enforcement and a suspect who shot and killed 40-year-old deputy suzanne hopper just minutes earlier. the married mother of two was the first to respond to a neighbor's report of gunshots and she was killed while gathering evidence. a second police officer was wounded in the exchange. the suspect, killed. in oregon, one lucky dog is back on dry ground after falling through thin ice on a frozen pond. a firefighter reeled in the struggling pooch, just in the nick of time. the animal suffered a few cuts and was treated for hypothermia, but otherwise, is expected to be okay. also in oregon, the forces of good and evil put down their guns and light sabers for a good cause, taking part in a blood drive. organizers say it was a fun way to get donors out there, but for the storm troopers and the

klingons, it was a battle for the galaxy drive trophy. and in colorado, what's more adorable on a panda or a miniature cow? a panda cow. it is a rare, miniature cow with the marking of a panda bear, and it was born on new year's eve. believed to be one of only 24 in the world. the mini cow is a result of genetic manipulation is expected to fetch $30,000. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins weekend aa heavy new year, bill who would buy a panda cow for $30,000? >> oh, i would. >> wow! >> you go party, bring your little panda cow with you. yeah. that's coming up next. a little mini -- you get me it, i'll give you the money. good morning, everyone. it's been a relatively storm-free beginning period here. we do have a storm system over southern california. it isn't a block buster storm

like the one wes were getting in 2010. what take thats this storm interesting is that it's so cold we're getting snow in the valleys. not just the mountains outside of l.a. these are the valleys just outside of town. it's very chilly and a lot of people don't see snow are actually getting some, even this morning. take a look out your window. who knows. maybe one of lucky few that will see snowflakes and shouldn't cause too many problems on the road. showers, this cleared out sacramento and san francisco. we do have winter storm warnings and so we have winter storm advisories out there. anywhere driving from l.a. to vegas today. higher elevations maybe a little slick. this isn't a blockbuster storm. precipitation not that heavy, bust a batch of light rain headed into l.a. over the next two hours hopefully clearing by the peak of the rush hour and san diego a shower brushed through. 38 in vegas. 46 in l.a. this is by far the worst day of the week. from here on out the weather

improves and gets better each and every day and the pick northwest actually reigning in the new year's with a nice fresno, temperatures kind of cool, around 52 degrees. ukiah around 54. lynn, we'll bring you the tuesday forecast coming up, bill, thanks so much. in the new year, stocks start strong. broadcast tv booms. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. and 2011 started the way 2011 ended at the box office. and coming up, the season final sunday and brett fev saav says he's done and this time he means it. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today," i'm lynn berry and here are some of your top headlines this morning. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu says he is ready to sit down with palestinian president mahmoud abbas for continuous one-on-one talks until they reach a peace deal. talks broke down three months ago, when a ten-month israeli settlement building freeze expired. there's an apparent truce from one of mexico's most notorious drug cartels. in a letter, la familia proposed the move to show it's not responsible for certain crimes as reported by police. this as new estimates show 2010 was the deadliest year of the mexican drug war, with more than 15,000 people killed by gangs and drug cartels. federal officials have barred american airlines from participating in an investigation into why one of its planes skidded off the end of a snowy runway in wyoming last week. the national transportation

safety board says the airline copied all of the data from one of the jet's black boxes before turning it over, in violation of its standards. a publicist for zsa zsa gabor says the 93-year-old actress is back in a los angeles hospital to have part of her leg amputated because gangrene is setting in. and today arkansas wildlife officials will begin trying to solve the mystery of why up to 5,000 blackbirds just fell from the sky before midnight on new year's eve, alarming residents as they piled up on homes and gardens. bizarre. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,577 after adding seven points on friday. the s&p was down a fraction. the nasdaq shed ten points. taking a look at overseas trading this morning -- in tokyo, 9 neex kaye fell 115 points, but in hong kong, the

hang keng rose 400. today's opening bell rings in the first trading week of the new year, where investors hope a fresh round of data will extend 2010's upward trend. all three u.s. markets finished out the year with double digit percentage gains. and this week, friday's employment report is expected to be the biggest test of the market's strength. also ahead on the economic calendar an update on the nation's manufacturing level comes out today, traders will get an important look at consumer spending for monthly car sales tomorrow, and december chain store sales thursday. overseas, asian stock markets have already kicked off the year with a healthy start, rising across the board on hopes the global economic recovery will continue. according to "the new york times ", bank ever america is taking a threat from wikileaks founder julian assange seriously. the bank reportedly has a team of officials tracking down the possible source of what assange promises will be his next big expose. information he says came from an executive's computer.

the "times" deal book is reporting facebook has raised $500 million from goldman sachs and a russian investor. the deal ups the company's value to $50 billion. more than the likes of ebay, yahoo! and time warner. some iphone users in asia overslept on the first work day of the new year. despite apple's promise a fix would be in place today for an alarm glitch that caused users worldwide to sleep late, and even miss flights on new year's day. and finally, if you think you watched a lot of tv last year, you're not alone. according to nielsen company, americans watched more television than ever in 2010. up about a percent to an average 34 hours per person per week. well, the colts gallop into the playoffs, the packers do themselves a giant fave and the falcons are flying high. plus -- the seattle seahawks become

a dubious piece of nfl history. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. it's a chilly and quiet start to our weather as we head through the first week of the new year. regional forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up this is "early today." and in sports, the seattle

seahawks flew in to the history books last night, even though their season wasn't exactly a smooth flight. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all of your sports headlines. >> good monday morning to you. the nfl playoffs are set, final spot decided last night. rams and seahawks, winner gets in, loser goes home. in seattle, hasselbeck out with a hip injury, charlie whitehurst would have to ride in and lead the seahawks to the postseason. whitehurst found mike williams for the touchdown and that would be the game's only td. seahawks won it 16-6. they're in the playoffs with a 7-9 record. they'll host the saints on saturday. this is the first time in nfl history a team has won their division with a losing record. indianapolis, where adam vinatieri kicked the colts into the playoffs. game-winning 43-yard field goal as time expired. indianapolis your afc south champ. beating tennessee 23-20. colts host the jets in the first round a rematch of last year's conference title game. then we go to green bay, packers and bears tied at three in the fourth. aaron rodgers tipped down for the game's only touchdown.

green bay won it 10-3 an clinch a playoff berth. they've got the eagles next sunday in philadelphia. atlanta secured the number one seed in the afc after beating carolina. and finding tony gonzalez in the end zone, falcons won it 31-10. atlanta has a first round bye throughout the playoffs. steelers visiting the browns. first play from scrimmage, ben roethlisberger airing it out to mike wallace. 66-yard score. steelers won it 41-9 capturing the afc north title and a first round bye. pittsburgh's win means baltimore gets the wild card. ravens will visit the chiefs on sunday. and it looks like the brett favre era is finally over. favre inactive for the vikings last game of the season. the 41-year-old said he had no regrets about coming back this year, and that he is finally done after 20 years in the nfl. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. >> "early today" sports is

brought to you by lectric shave. blade close, lectric smooth. >> the revolving door of rehab is how some celebrities are kicking off 2011. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, it's being called the ultimate set of wheels. but it's not what you'd expect to see in the playground of the rich and famous. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. your forecast for the first monday in the new year. going back to school and work. featuring light range. not a horrible storm system. enough to make roads wet. rain in the forecast for vegas. we're okay in the pacific northwest and you know what? the forecast out west as we go throughout the upcoming week looks pretty nice. no big storms heading our way soon. enjoy what should be a decent warm-up after a very cool period to start the new year. in kwur watching on krra in sacramento, learn about knitting and sharing your knowledge with others and enjoy friendly conversation at knitting and natterring at the arden-dimick library. >> why not? bill, thanks so much. >> what did i know? >> more than i thought you'd know. now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. with no new wide releases over new year's weekend, the box office lined up pretty much the same way it did over the

christmas holiday. "little fockers" remained at the top with $26.3 million. close behind was "true grit" for the second straight weekend with $4.5 million and the sci-fi sequel "tron: legacy" came in third. elsewhere, valerie bertinelli rang in the new year with wedding bells. the 50-year-old actress wed longtime boyfriend tom vitale. and david arquette started off 2011 in a less pleasant way. "people" magazine reports he checked himself into rehab over the weekend. a friend tells "people" the actor, who recently separated from his wife courteney cox, needs help with alcohol and other issues. and finally lindsay lohan is expected to check out of rehab today. but her freedom is going to depend on pending allegations that she assaulted a betty ford worker. meanwhile, the starlet has taken to twitter, writing, today is the first day of the rest of my life. the future depends on what we do in the present.

which, bill, is a quote from gandhi. a new installation. >> did she know was a quote from gandhi? >> she did, she put a little -- quote, gandhi. we'll give her that credit. >> this comes to us from kusa 9 news in denver, colorado, where in nearby aspen, navigating the ultimate play ground of the well-to-do wouldn't be complete without the ultimate taxi ride. john operates what he calls the only recording studio theater night club planetarium toy store and internet connected taxi cab in the world. he does it all while driving, but says he draws the line with cell phones. so how much is 45 minutes going to cost you? $175 big ones. i'm lynn berry and this is "early today." just your first stop of the day today, on your nbc station.

talk about a tasty tradition. in mexico city thousands of people gathered to take in the new year by eating a giant cake. the enormous pastry seemingly took all of 2010 to make, and required more than 30,000 eggs, 400 pounds of fruit, 5,000 pounds of sugar, and 2,000 bakers. but only a few seconds to gobble up. well, one recent showdown had two rivals facing off in unchartered waters. rafael nadal met up with roger federer for a match on a floating tennis court in qatar. choppy conditions kept the court submerged in water, but despite being up to their ankles in water the two handled the conditions like pros, keeping

the ball in play. here's one way to try and boost sales. dare your customers to show up nude. a store in madrid kicked off the winter sales season with a unique promotion. despite frigid winter temperatures, nearly 200 people lined up and stripped down hoping to come away with a deal for their troubles. they scored two free items of clothing, a bottom and a top, which will come in handy for the ride home. now i know where you were this weekend, bill. >> i was there. >> you showed up late for work and strolled in. yeah. >> yeah, new year's resolution? >> i haven't established one yet. do you have one? >> i've decide i will not have ice cream every night before bed. just every other during this year. >> i don't like that. i don't like that at all. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc -- president obama and the first family are scheduled to leave hawaii late tonight, after spending nearly two weeks vacationing in the aloha state. they're expected to return to the white house tomorrow. new governors will be sworn in in five states, including wisconsin, minnesota, wyoming,

nevada and california. and the mars rover spirit marks its seventh year on the red planet. the probe has been stuck in a sand trap since 2009 and hasn't communicated with earth since last march. but nasa continues to listen for any signs that it may be still functioning. 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. a live report on lindsay lohan's possible departure from rehab. and what the future holds for the troubled actress. and, olympic figure skater and a bronze medalist takes to the ice for a special performance. and 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. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com