this morning on "early today" -- new reality. president obama returns from vacation to face an emboldened gop. zeroing in. a new test that could revolutionize the way doctors detect cancer. and hot spot. italy the mount edna kicks off with a spectaculhow. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pick time zone. i'm lynn berry, and today we begin with back to work. after a ten-day hawaiian vacation, president obama

returns to washington today to face a new year and new challenges. among them, republicans promise to investigate and overhaul some of the landmark policies of his presidenty. there's also some housekeeping to take care of, including naming a new chief of staff. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, signing the food and sachty law today, also a pretty full agenda. a few hours ago we left hawaii. he's onboard. we just got word he made comments about what's going on here on capitol hill. expecting the new republican majority in the house and senate, they've set a date to repeal, for a vote on whether or not to scrap that entire law on health care. that's expected to pass the house, but a lot of observers say it's probably not going to pass the senate because democrats do still have that slim majority there.

the new republican leadership here also plans hearings, investigations into how the obama administration is doing business, how they're executing those laws. strategists say that could backfire with not so much debate but the american public if they're always seeing republicans complain about the president. and then as you mentioned when the president gets back, he's also got to jump on what to do about his chief of staff. we now understand that he met with william daley. president clinton's former commerce secretary, at the white house last month. he's being considered. also pete rouse, the interim chief of staff as well. >> thank you, tracie potts. nbc news has learned the punishment for the commander of an aircraft carrier under fire for having his crew watch videos he produced with anti-gay slurs. captain owen honors will be temporarily relieved of his

command of the "uss enterprise" as early as today, pending the navy's formal investigation into the matter. that means honors would not be at the helm when the ship deploys to afghanistan in a jay gray takes a closer look at the controversial videos. >> there's a really good chance you're going to be offended. >> reporter: the videos were made during 2006 and '07 during combat missions in iraq and afghanistan and broadcast on the closed circuit video channel on movie nights. video spoof, aun used looking to ease pressures and tensions on the war zone, but rarely do these feature a senior officer who in this case, according to the navy, crossed the line. >> this evening, we've got some different chicks in the shower. >> reporter: the risk aprofanity laced video featured derogatory comments about gays and lesbians. the navy has launched a full investigation and issued a written statement condemning the videos which says, in part, those in command are charged to lead by example and are held

accountable for setting the proper tone and upholding the standards of honor, courage an commitment. an overwhelming majority of comments on the facebook page support captain owen honors. >> he's the best executive officer by far that i've worked under. >> at the end of the day, we need to let the navy work through this process and figure out where the facts are in this. >> reporter: the "enterprise" is xbeshled to deploy to afghanistan in the next couple of weeks. jay grape, nbc news. >> now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america -- police in washington state are looking for two burglars who smashed through glass doors of a bowling alley with their minivan and then drove out with an atm. one of the suspects took time to direct the driver to reverse into the machine. it's not known how much money was inside. in ohio, 850 pounds of pot with an estimated worth of

over $1 million was found while authorities investigated a report home invasion. the county sheriff called it a record bust. the 21-year-old victim of the invasion has been charged with trafficking and possession. and a florida man is living with two adult lions in a campaign to raise money for the wildlife rehabilitation center he runs. he's been streaming live on his website. the lions seem friendly, although they sometimes play a little too rough. fortunately he doesn't have to watch his back all the time since lions sleep up to 20 hours a day. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. good morning, bill. >> i hope we never have an update to that story, because if we do -- >> it didn't end well. >> exactly. hoping to raise the money and be done with it. let's talk about the weather pattern out there, lynn. snow yesterday in areas that

don't usually see it. started in the valleys in california, and it moved right into the deserts of southern nevada. even in downtown vegas, they saw snow. technically in las vegas you see snow about once every other year. this accumulated, at least a dusting on the sidewalks and grass. the biggest snowstorm in history was seven inches, and that was many, many years ago. every now and then it happen, but it's still quite a scene. as far as what's happening today that storm system is long gone. dissipating over utah and arizona. another cut off low off the coast not affecting anybody and cloud cover coming up with the next system in the british columbia. high pressure protecting the west, cool and chilly, but not dealing with bad weather conditions. 29 in medford. into olympia and vegas, cold, 34. no snow today for pup phoenix has 41 degrees. with the sunshine today we warm it up. forecast, temperatures in the low 60s and up the coast we

should recover there a little. partly cloudy skies in the upper 30s. that's a lookdegrees. cold ate our there. in the days ahead, you should warm it up. lynn, wednesday forecast coming up. >> all right, bill, thanks. also coming up, stocks get off to a flying start, and the national debt crashes through a new ceiling. jr. early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus -- has she found someone new? rumors are flying. coming up on a season high for lebron james and going a long way in the orange bowl. 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 -- harvard researchers say they have a blood test so precise, it can spot a single cancer cell among a billion healthy ones. the test is still years away from public use, but scientists hope if it becomes reality it could detect recurrence sooner and replace painful biopsies. investigators are trying to solve the mysterious murder of a military expert whose body was found dumped in a delaware landfill on new year's eve. according to those who knew him, 66-year-old john wheeler who served in three republican administrations, seemed an unlikely person to meet such a gruesome end. a new 60-minute/vanity fair poll finds the majority, 61% of americans, think the u.s. should raise taxes for the rich to balance the budget. the second most favored method? cutting the defense budget. sky watchers across europe

and the middle east this morning reveet treated to the first partial solar eclipse of 2011. a small bite of the sun. the first of four partial solar eclipses of the year. and it may be a few days late, but italial mount etna put on its own fireworks display to bring in the new year, spewing out spectacular ash and fire. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,690. the s&p rose points and the nasdaq shot up 38. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei climbed 169 points while in hong kong, the hang seng added 232. stocks started off the year with a big lift on monday, and that could be a promising sign for the rest of 2011. both the dow and the s&p 500

reached new two-year highs and the nasdaq 100 had its highest close in nearly ten years. historically, january says a lot about how the rest of the year goes. for instance, since 1929 if stocks end january higher, 73% of the time the s&p rises for the year. monday's data sent a positive tone. the nation's manufacturing sector grew for a 17th straight month in december. meanwhile, construction spending increased in november to its highest level since june. global data was also encouraging. china's factory inflation cooled in december and markets in europe got a boost on word manufacturing there picked up steam. here, financials led the way. bank of america jumped over 6% after it agreed to pay $2.8 billion to mortgage finance giants fannie mae and freddie mac to settle claims over bad mortgages. the nasdaq was driven by apple which rose over 2% after one analyst raised its estimates and price targets.

goldman sachs gained almost 3% after a report it bought a stake in facebook at a deal worth $50 billion. optimism the economy is mending came with a price. overnight in asia, oil inched back towards $92 a barrel. keep an eye on johnson & johnson today after it announced partnership with boston scientists on a ground-breaking blood test for cancer. and finally, a reminder our troubles are not exactly over. the u.s. treasury website reports as of the last day of 2010 for the first time the national debt topped $14 trillion. well, miami millionaires light it up. shaq gives a teammate a lift, and denver's mascot comes up golden. plus in last night's orange bowl, luck was literally on stanford's side. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. besides a little rain in houston and cold air in the northern plains a peaceful

starts continues for your january weather. your forecast coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports -- last night at the orange bowl, the stanford cardinals showed why their quarterback and their head coach

are in such high demand these days. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good tuesday morning to you. depending on what rumor you believe, stanford's head coach, jim harbaugh, is headed to the 49ers or to the broncos. then again, it could be michigan.. no matter what, his stock is through the roof after a decisive win in the orange bowl. projected in the nfl pick number one pick in the draft. outscored the hokies, 27-0. stanford cruises to the orange bowl victory, 40-12. t. was supposed to be black monday way handful of coaches expected to are fired but only one handed walking papers. cleveland browns fired eric mangini after a 5-11 season. mike holmgren looking for a replacement. remember when everyone thought that eric bolster's job was on the line? now the heat, the hottest team in the league. he was named eastern conference coach of the month. it doesn't stop there.

lebron james and dwyane wade shared the conference player of the month award. they went out and dismantled the bobcats. lebron had a season high with 38. the heat won it 96-82. shaq has carried teams in the past. now he just carries players into the locker room. rajon rondo. received vip treatment and returns the favor on the court. the celts rally from 10 back to take the lead. last chance for minnesota. michael beasley for the tie. it was off the mark. celts won it, 96-93. finally, shot of the night wasn't by a player, but by a mascot. rocky of the denver nuggets with his back to the bask, tossed one up from half court and he drained it. if the nuggets can't keep carmelo anthony, maybe they can re-sign rocky. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. "early today" sports is brought to you by, just for men hair color. live forward. well, whose face sold the most magazines in 2010? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead.

plus, it's unusual to give birth to twins, but it's even more rare to have them in different years. you're watching "early today."

welcome back an good morning on this tuesday. temperatures are a little cool still in the west, but a nice afternoon. then snow and rain from yesterday is gone from southern california, southern nevada. today phoenix only 60 and suny.

same in san dag toe l.a. right around 60 degrees. cool in the pick northwest. a peek at your wednesday forecast. the storm system going up into british columbia will drag a front towards the pacific northwest. increasing clouds and rain out of it. may mix in with a few snowflakes in areas near portland and definitely the higher elevations. southern california, nevada and arizona, a really nice middle to end of your week here with plent of sunshine and temperatures warping up. if you're watching in seattle, washington, pieces of clothing, robes an blankets from country around the pick rim at the burke museum. that's your pacific events ever the day. lynn. >> thanks, bill. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. she may not have topped 2010's concert sales, but lady gaga was at least cover girl of the year. according to womenswear daily, featuring a gun-toting lady gaga

told more than three times the monthly average and was by far the top seller of 2010. lady gaga's cosmo cover was the best selling issue of the year, but on the flip side, taylor swift was the worst cover. her "elle" cover was the worst performer of the year in october. her glamour and marie claire covers ranked a second and third lowest selling. elsewhere, newly freed lindsay lohan is reportedly hiring a sober coach before deciding whether she'll live in new york or los angeles. finally, e-online reports sandra bullock and ryan reynolds spent new year's eve together in texas. although they were seen holding hands, sandra said she was just helping him through his break

up. come on. you should have seen the other photo. this comes from rockford, illinois. where need a pair of twins born in different years. madison was born with just one minute left in 2010. then finally came her brother, aiden, right after midnight in 2011. the near impossible result stemmed from a complication that forced mom to deliver 28 days early. mom, dad and the doctor thought it would make for a great story to tell and no doubt it will lead to a few sibling disagreements in the coming years. i actually think it may lead to a little easing of the sibling rivalries, because you don't have to share a birthday. >> that's true. makes it a little easier. trying to figure how it works for taxes. claim one child for this year and then -- >> good point. oh, so boring, though. >> see? a guy's mind. >> i'm lynn berry and this is "early today." just for first stop of the day, today on your nbc station.

talk about having to work for your food, at a restaurant in jordan, diners turned into chefs. the newest trend of cook it yourself dining is particularly popular with tourists looking for arabic food. as a plus they learn the art of cooking a traditional four-course meal to take home with them. there's carrying a note, and there's carrying a note for over a day. one singer in india hopes to take the record of singing the longest without a break. he did allow himself to sit during the marathon. after countless patriotic and religious tunes, he reached the high note by reaching the

25-hour mark. this next record may not sound like music to your ears. two men in china clinched the record for the longest time standing on ice cubes. in the end, the champs spent two hours on ice. that's five minutes longer than the previous record. thankfully, there were doctors monitoring the men throughout the challenge. but bill, actually, it's interesting. one of the doctors told the guy, you need to stop. this has to end. but he wanted to break the record. i cannot understand that. >> no one does the opposite of this. no one does, like, extreme heat to see how long they can survive. >> i want to break the world record of laying on the beach in the caribbean. does that sound good? >> i was going to go with the sleeping record. >> we always enjoy that on "early today." time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. in texas, an xonation heanerati

will be held for 51-year-old cornelius dupree jr. who has been freed on bail since july and today a judge is expected to set aside the conviction based on dna testing. we'll find out if americans were in the car buying mood during the holidays. analysts expect a third straight month of healthy sales. in a dazzling display of shooting stars will be falling from the sky tonight during the year's first meteor shower. 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 latest details on a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by massage therapists against football superstar brett favre and the jets. and meet new york state's new first girlfriend. food network star sandra lee. 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

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