this morning on "early today," stunned and saddened. the shooting rampage in tucson, arizona, that sent shock waves across the nation. congresswoman gabrielle giffords' fights for her life as the nation mourns the six victims killed and tries to make sense about the tragedy. meanwhile, there's new information about the gunman and the 911 tape that captured the horror in the massacre's aftermath. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning to you. welcome to our viewers including

those in the pacific time zone. i'm veronica da la cruz. we begin with the tragedy in tucson. gabriel giffords is still in intensive care after being gunned down in tucson, arizona leaving six others dead. >> reporter: among survivors, the most critically injured was the congresswoman and still listed in critical condition. she's medically stated to give her brain a chance to heal. congresswoman gabrielle giffords is in a fight for her life recovering from a single bullet to the head. >> okay. there's other people that are -- >> multiple people shot. >> okay. >> i'm like -- >> reporter: there is mounting evidence that giffords was likely the target of a lone gunman's weekend ramp amp in tu sos that left 20 shot, six dead. >> continued to spray bullets at close range to the people that

were will. they were falling. >> reporter: late sunday giffords husband issued a statement expressing the family's gratitude to the people of arizona ath the nation for their support, adding, gabby was going what she loved most. hearing from her constituents when this trach dip occurred. a search of the suspect's home and found notes saying i planned ahead, my assassination and another one that said giffords'. he's scheduled to make his first court appearance including murder and attempted assassination of a congresswoman. >> i am not going to preclude the possibility of additional charges that will be brought under domestic terrorism statutes as the investigation continues. >> reporter: among the dead, federal judge john roll and 9-year-old christina green. the girl was borng on september 11th, the day of the terror attacks and featured in a book about 9/11 babies caused "faces

of hope." >> she began her life on a tragedy. 9/11, and her life was ended with a tragedy here in arizona. so the tragedy is where the book ends. the bulk of her life was wonderful, and we loved every minute of it. >> reporter: at the hospital doctors are cautiously optimistic about congresswoman giffords' recovery but don't know what that recovery will look like yet. it appears the weekend shooting may not have been the first encounter between the suspect and the congresswoman. invest gators found a letter in the suspect's home from the congresswoman thanking him for attending a "congress on your corner" event back in 2007. in tucson, arizona, noel walker, back to you. >> thank you. saturday's tragic attack put a spotlight on a nation divided in its political rhetoric. this morning lawmakers in washington are united in mourning the loss of fellow americans and in support of a respected colleague.

nbc's tracie potts joins us live from washington with the very latest. tracies, good morning to you. >> good morning everyone. united under a president now calling for a moment of silence later this morning at 11:00 a.m. eastern time, and also ordered flags flown at half-staff around the country, which you will see here on capitol hill at first light in order to honor these victims. the shooting victim, those who survives, those who are still fighting for their lives and those killed in this tragic shooting. president obama has put off a trip to new york to talk about the economy tomorrow saying that this is a type for us to come together as a nation in prayer and in reflection. now, here on capitol hill, congress is also putting off its business this week. there will be no business, no votes when they come into session tomorrow, and, again on wednesday in hopes of passing a resolution to honor congresswoman giffords and the victims. they are also, some of them, worry about more security at public events like this. veronica?

>> tracie potts in washington. tracies, thanks. here's a look at other stories making news early today in america -- outgoing georgia governor sunny perdue declared a state of emergency. officials asked residents to stay off the roads until tomorrow. all that as a winter blast rolled through the area dumping three inches of snow, which was three inches short of forecast. the poor weather conditions will last through tuesday. further delayed flights out of atlanta and across the country. folks in mississippi aren't faring better in the northern county of granada. expected to get four to six inches of snow. significantly more than the 9/10 inch the county usually averages all winter. utilities officials here, as many as 75,000 customers could lose power across the state, and with only one snow plow in the county it could take a while to clear roads once the storm passes. and in california, perfect weather for the 37th annual fungus fair. fairgoers and fungus fans got to

see and learn about the hundreds of different species of mushrooms and fungus. more importantly, they got to taste test delicious samples of the earthy treats. hmm. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc's bill karins with the weather channel forecast, otherwise known as a fungi. >> well done. saved that in your back pocket nap was good. let's talk about what's happening forecastwise around the country. a very nasty travel day in the eastern half of the nation while the west coast is looking good. we have alabama that picked up 6 inches of snow in huntsville. atlanta still getting freezing rain that's heading through the carolinas. snow yesterday in denver. now it's snowing in kansas city, and while we're in the west, we're enjoying the quiet weather for now. it's not going to last all week long. actually nasty weather conditions coming the end of this week. especially in the pacific northwest. there's a storm system out in, far out in the pick right now, but we're clear at can be in most areas and still cool in much of the country. well below average temperatures.

the west is no exception to that. temperature of 37 in san francisco to start your morning. definitely grab the jacket and gloves even medford and boise. all, even seattle at 33. a breeze out there. windchill below freezing. 44 in phoenix and 46. you get the general gist of it. dry today, partly cloudy skies, temperatures remains cool. that's a look at y flagstaff, 31. friends in washington state increasing clouds. talk about that tuesday forecast and i mentioned a lot rain on the way for the pick northwest. >> hmm. 60 degrees in san diego. not too bad. >> best it the west. >> thanks, bill. a big announcement from verizon. a big increase at the gas pump

and big business in cupcakes. early morning biz headlines straight ahead. plus the kardashian empire smacked with a lawsuit. eagles permanently grounded and a deal on the table for carmelo anthony. you're watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm veronica de la cruz. here areship your top headlines this morning -- the man accused of trying to kill gabrielle giffords and killing six others is expected to make an appearance in the courtroom today. the congresswoman remains in critical condition this morning with doctors saying they are cautiously optimistic about her chances. washington is criticizing israel over its decision to bulldoze a landmark hotel in jerusalem to make way for a new jewish housing project. in a statement, secretary of

state hillary clinton said the "disturbing development undermines efforts to revise peace talks for the palestinians." millions of sudanese have started heading to the polls for a week-long referendum expected to split the troubled african nation into two parts, depriving the north from the south lucrative oil. the historic vote was promised in 2005 peace deal ending a civil war between the mostly muslim north and mainly christian south. and this morning, "new york times" reports the library of congress has begun taking possession of some 200,000 original recordings dating from the mid-20s to the late '40s. the bequest contains music from every major genre of that era including jazz, blues, country and pop. now a look at how wall street will kick off today. the dow opens at 11,674 after falling 22 points friday. the s&p dipped two points and

and the nasdaq lost 6. taking a look at overseas trading this morning in tokyo. the nikkei was closed for a holiday, but in hong dong, the hang seng dropped 159 points. after friday's less than impressive december jobs report failed to fill the recent rally, cautious investors turn to signs of hope. fourth quarter earnings season kicks off today. as always, a little maker alcoa will lead the pack after the bell. also ahead this week, intel and j.p. morgan chase will weigh in with their quarterly reports. we'll get updated inflation data from both consumer and producer price reports, and the government releases its take on last month's retail sales. overseas this morning, china reported a trade surplus narrowed sharply in december. that news could take the edge off of currency talks scheduled between china and the u.s. later this month. oil prices rallied near $90 a barrel this morning after a pipeline leak shut down the transamerica pipeline yesterday.

that leak could lead to higher prices at the pump, up nine cents in the past three weeks to an average $3.08 a gallon. verizon has hit the stage for a big announcement tuesday, and several reports say the big to-do is to unveil its long-awaited version of apple's iphone. the first round of deal news could be the spot in trading. danish food maker in a deal worth $6 billion. and a group of private equity firms are reportedly interested in buying out sara lee, a deal worth $11 billion. and finally, one sign the nation's cupcake craze is here to stay -- "the new york times" deal book reports that crumbs bake shop is about to go public thanks to a $66 million merger expected to be announced today. talk about blockbuster trade. this one is practically nuclear.

plus, nfl playoff action including green bay looking to send the eagles packing. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. a major winter storm is paralyzing travel in the southeast and it's going to head up the east coast. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

well, good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports -- the nfl wild card playoff weekend ended appropriately enough for the wild down to the wire thriller in philadelphia. here's mario solis with a look at all of your sports headlines. good morning. the sport of the year in the nfl has been the resurgence of michael vick. but the fairy tale season has come to an end, thanks to aaron rodgers and the packers. we go to philly, pick it up in the third quarter. packers on top, 14-10. looking for more. and they find it. aaron rodgers to brandon jackson. jackson does the rest. third td pass for rodgers. up 21-10. eagles answer in the fourth. vick calls his own number and takes it in from one yard out. they would miss the two-point conversion and trail 21-16. packers can't put it away, giving the eagles a chance in the final minute, but vick is picked off in the end zone. the packers write their own storybook ending. they win 21-16 and play the

falcons saturday in atlanta. to the afc. chiefs and ravens. jamal charles puts kansas city on the board with a 41-yard touchdown. arrowhead stadium rocking. the chiefs up. the cheers turn to jeers. ravens score 21 unanswered points. joe flacco throwing a pair of touchdowns. this one to anquan boldin. that was the offense. here is the ravens' trademark defense. they got to matt cassel three times. and forced him to throw three interceptions. baltimore plays the steelers way convincing 30-7 win in k.c. by the time you sit down to dinner, carmelo anthony could be a new jersey net. they're close to landing a three-time all-star. the trade would involve 15 players and three teams, if it goes through. 'melo would like to be traded to play against the lakers. they could have used him. the huge dunk. the lakers up five at the half. kobe bryant knows a thing or two about dunking. with the alley and the oop.

kobe had 27. lakers win 109-76, and that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. >> "early today sports" is brought to you by lectric shave. blade close, lectric smooth. big numbers for "snl," tiny numbers at the box office. your early morning headlines are straight ahead. plus, at first glance, these subway riders in the nation's capital may look normal but they're anything but. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. here's your forecast. 38 in seattle, 36 in medford. portland dry also. the desert southwest, still cold. 46 that's it in vegas today. a very cold january. by the time we get to tomorrow, the storm system moves onshore and could begin with snow portland. just cold rain in northern california. if you're watching on khnl nbc 8, honolulu, hawaii, never too late to pick up a musical instrument. rye not start now? the ukulele, that's your pacific event for the day. >> i'm in. >> that would be fun. now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. the first week in january is normally quiet at the box office.

but the ticket estimates hold it's the worst since 2000. "true grit" took the top spot with a mere $15 million becoming the first western to top the $100 million mark since the 1990s. elsewhere, jim carrey and the black keys helped pump 2011's first "saturday night live" episode to the show's biggest overnight rating since last may when betty white hosted with jay-z. kim kardashian and their mother is being sued by the company creating the prepaid debit card. this endorsed by the sisters. they pulled out of the deal over the card's high fees. finally, david and victoria beckham announced this weekend baby number four is on the way. congratulations to them. this comes to us from washington, d.c. where thousands turned up a little too casually attired to their daily commute. flash mobs braved freezing temps stripping down to skivvies for the no pants subway ride.

regular riders caught off guard, but from the demeaner of the pantless riders it looked as though they were the oddballs. the convenient began in 2002 in new york with only seven people and now is an international event involving thousands. i saw you, bill karins. wasn't that you? you were like in the heart-shaped boxers? >> no, no. the scooby-doo boxers. >> that's right. that was you. just making sure. i'm veronica de la cruz. this is "early today." just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

missing for years in afghanistan a member of the australian defense force reunited with comrades. a trained bomb sniffer went missing 2008 after shrapnel broke what was attached to her handler. an american soldier saw her and helped reunite her with her friends from down under. her furry friends in the event. this is coming of age day. men and women turning 20 are honored. yesterday in tokyo to celebrate animals transitioning into adulthood, dogs and cats in traditional clothing were honored in a ceremony at a

shinto shrine. huh. very interesting. elvis the king would have turned 76 this weekend. to celebrate, fans in japan searched for a new king to crown. they held an elvis impersonation contest. five wannabes slipped into polyester hoping to score the top prize. the winner has nailed the voice, the costume, and, of course, showed the ability to melt the heart of female fans which i believe bill karins does every single day successfully. >> that's a given. i mean -- i can't shake my hips like he could. that's all. i try. time to take a look at some of the stories we'll be following throughout the day here on nbc -- in illinois, the senate may vote on a bill that would abolish the death penalty in that state. last week, the illinois house approved a measure banning capital punishment. almost two week afrs the northeast was buried by a blizzard, new york city's council will hold hearings about problems that plagued the city after the snowstorm. mayor bloomberg and his

administration has been criticized for the response to the blizzard. and the american international auto show which runs for the next two weeks. all day long, stay on top of the latest developments on those stories and others as they break on msnbc. and tonight, be sure to watch brian williams with nbc nightly news. finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. here from the heroes in arizona who helped representative giffords in a special live report from tucson. and angt tris suzanne somers shows her secrets for fighting fat after 40. and now, keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather and sports and so much more. i'm veronica de la cruz. this is your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station. have a terrific start to your week. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com