[ cheers and applause ] ♪ this morning on "early today" -- mourning in silence. the nation pauses to honor those killed and wounded in tucson as we get our first look at the accused gunman. state of emergency. a powerful and deadly winter storm brings misery to the southern u.s. an outer space oddity. the hubble space telescope gives us our first peek at a mysterious, giant green blob. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers avoss the nation including the pacific time zone.

i'm veronica de la cruz. today, we begin with arizona aftermath. for the first time, the suspect in the tucson shooting appeared before a judge to face charges. meanwhile, congresswoman gabrielle giffords remains in critical condition, but there's been some hopeful signs in the fight for her life. incomes's jay gray reports. >> reporter: quietly they gather around this growing memorial at university medical center, hundreds throughout the day, many looking for the same thing as the victims inside. healing. the emotions here are still so raw, somber faces saying what words right now cannot. >> this is our town, and it's just horrible that something like this could happen here. >> reporter: the emotions stretching as far as nasa's mission control and colleagues of gabrielle giffords's husband at nauft mark kelly including his brother scott, currently onboard the international space station providing a unique perspective on the tragedy. >> as i look out the window, i see a very beautiful planet that

seems very inviting and peaceful. unfortunately, it is not. please join me and the rest of the iss expedition 26 crew in a moment of silence. >> reporter: a silence broken as the focus now shifts to the man accused. 22-year-old jared lee loughner face add federal judge for the first time, his hair shaved also with a cut across his cheek. loughner answered "yes" when asked if he understood his rights and the murder and attempted murder charges he now faces. investigators say he said little else, but they believe new evidence uncovered at his home speaks volumes. agents found a harshly worded letter to gabrielle giffords but apparently never sent. they call a note threatening, but say there's no mention of the attack. we also now know that loughner was heavily armed that day, carrying 90 rounds of ammunition. one of those bullets tragically piercing the brain of giffords who doctors say continues to show signs of progress. >> we're not out of the woods

yet. that swelling can sometimes take three days or five days to maximize, but every day that goes by and we don't see an increase, we're slightly more optimistic. >> reporter: it's hope that is so desperately needed by so many here right now. jay gray, nbc news, tucson. president obama will travel to arizona tomorrow to speak at a memorial service for the victims of saturday's tragedy and to try to find the right words to help heal a nation in mourning. incomes's tracie potts joins us live from washington with more. tasie, good morning to you. >> reporter: veronica, good morning. the president and mrs. obama will travel to the university of arizona for that event tomorrow night. yesterday they were together on the south lawn leading the nation in a moment of silence honoring the six victims who died and those injured including congresswoman gabrielle giffords fighting forrer had life in that arizona hospital.

this event is free and open to the public. the president says it is important to remember not only the victims but the heroes who emerged during that tragedy on saturday. back here on capitol hill, today there will be a short house session giving members of congress an opportunity to speak about the tragedy and to honor their colleague. also, new jersey democrat frank lautenberg and representative carolyn ma loan fri new york as well have decided to issue a new piece of legislation that would restrict the type of ammunition that was used in that shooting. ven veronica? >> tracie potts in washington. thank you so much. >> now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america -- in georgia, fire up the engine took on a whole new meaning when a driver attempting to free his car from the snow spun his wheels until his vehicle burst into flames. firefighters arrived to put out the blaze, but not before the car was destroyed. the driver escaped unharmed.

in tennessee, many drivers became stuck and had to be pushed or pulled from icy slick roads. about a foot of snow in the area was enough for the governor to declare a state of emergency. the weather system that has moved across much of the south has been blamed for several weather-related traffic accidents that have claimed the lives of nine people. and in upstate new york, it was a fight for survival for one fearless squirrel. the critter wandered into a tiger habitat and soon desperate to scamper. the big cat forced it out of a tree, but thankfully, right before the little guy got trapped beneath the tiger's paw, the squirrel got away. lucky for him. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. yeah, bill. what? the tiger was just being nice. trying to make friends. >> a new way to get a squirrel off your attic. a cute video. the line could have got him if

he wanted to. talk about weather. cold air in through the rockies. thankfully not heading for the west coast. a little piece coming in through areas of extreme eastern oregon and washington state. idaho is very cold this morning, too. vegas at 33. not fun. as far as today goes, the weather pattern is about to change. we are seeing a new storm system off the coast sending in clouds and moisture at this hour. this isn't a blockbuster storm but it's going to change the weather pattern. behind his, high pressure builds in out over the ocean. that's going to cause all the storms to head up back into the pacific northwest in the days ahead. so today, we mentioned, a lot of cool air out there. a little bit of rain and snow. u eureka, snow, maybe a shower around sacramento. further south there's showery-type weather. nothing to be too concerned with. fresno, possibility of light rain out there. now as we go through the next couple of days, all the focus for all the wet weather moves further to the north. we could see significant

rainfall, maybe even flooding in the days ahead in the pick northwest. that's a look at your tuesday d see snow. changing to rain as temperatures warm up. we'll talk about that wet and soggy extended forecast coming up. >> hmm. it is cold out there, bill. bottom line. >> just about everywhere, yeah. and where we strike again, optimism for earnings and the car and truck of the year. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, michael douglas' miracle. he tells matt lauer he has beaten the big "c." college football's national title game decided in the final seconds thanks to an unusual play. you're watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm veronica de la cruz. here are some of your top headlines this morning -- former house majority leader tom delay has been sentenced to three years in prison for illegally funneling corporate money to texas republican candidates back in 2002. delay, who also received ten years probation, was released on $10,000 bail yesterday pending an appeal which could last months if not years. rescuers in australia are racing to reach trapped residents after an inland tsunami killed at least eight people and left dozens wounded yesterday. residents ran to escaped a 20-foot high wall of water that ripped houses from their foundations. officials in germany are monitoring a sinkhole which so far swallowed three cars. authorities think melting water from recent snowstorms in the region may have caused the problem. and the hubble space telescope has snapped a picture

of a mysterious green blob in space. first discovered four years ago by a dutch schoolteacher. the bizarre feature is actually a blob of gas giving birth to new stars in a remote area of the universe where stars don't normally form. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day -- the dow opens at 11,637 after falling 37 points yesterday. the s&p dipped one point, but the nasdaq added four. taking a look at overseas trading this morning -- in tokyo, the nikkei lost 30 points. but in hong kong, the hang seng climbed 233. worries that europe's debt crisis are deepening stalled wall street's upward trend for a third straight day. stalks fell early on concerns portugal may seek a bailout and italy and spain may follow. those fears may nag wall street, thrust for yesterday at least optimism over a strong earnings season helped pull up stocks from their lows.

after the bell, alcoa kicked off earnings with its highest profits in two years. that's thanks to strong demand. shares slipped after hours. meanwhile, education company apollo group shot up after the bell thanks to fourth quarter earnings that beat the street. at&t was the dow's biggest loser slipping nearly 2% on reports that the iphone's exclusive carrier is about to come to an end. meanwhile -- apple picked up on a potential surge in iphone sales. verizon is expected to announce today it will be iphone's newest carrier. goldman sachs is going to reveal transparency and the way it operat operates. corporate deals helped offset losses including duke energy's plan to buy another company to create one of the company's largest utilities. $13 billion. playboy hugh hefner's plans to

take his company private caused it to surge. finally, the big news out of the detroit auto show, chevy's fuel efficient volt was crowned north american car of the year while the 2011 top truck title went to the ford explorer. well, it is the game that had it all. a national crown at stake, a heisman trophy winner and a last-second field goal winner. ironically, after all the controversy over how to pick a national champion, it all comes down to one controversial play. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and we're waiting for our big storm to develop off the east coast. in the meantime, a new storm moves on to the west coast. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today." irisk for sudden cardiac death.

i was 23 years old, i wasn't overweight. i never dreamed this would happen to me. when the doctor told me i had three blocked arteries, i felt like i was punched in the gut. i found out that one in three women die from heart disease. how did i not know that? well, good morning to you. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports -- although it may seem like college football has been over for months, last night, a national champion was finally crowned. here is nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. for all the bashing the bcs takes, this is how the national championship should be decided, number one against number two for the right to be called the best in college football.

in arizona, heisman trophy winner cam newton leading top ranked auburn against number two oregon. before the game, a moment of silence for the victims of sunday's tragic shooting in tucson. newton finds cody burns and he finds the end zone, 7-3, auburn tigers. the ducks quack back. the defense gets going. throwing another to lamichael james for the score and oregon goes up. oregon tacks on the two-point conversion to go up, 11-7. newton goes back to work. wide open for the 30-yard touchdown. tigers back on top, 16-11. that was the score at halftime. late fourth quarter, 19-11, auburn. oregon had trouble getting into the end zone all night, in the closing moments, lamichael james, shovel. they just needed the two-point conversion to tie. the tough snap. across the body to jeff mahel. the national title game is tied with 2 1/2 minutes to play. so auburn driving for the win. the play that will define the

game. michael dyer on the run. everyone thinks he's down. stops running. but coaches tell him to move. so he moves. he rips off 37 yards to get auburn into field goal range. check dyer's knee. never touches the ground. play was reviewed, officials say he was never down. auburn has a chip shot for the win. from 19 yards away, never a doubt. the auburn tigers win, a thrilling national championship. 20-19. it's auburn's second national title. their first in 54 years. >> auburn was due for something great and tonight we did something great and we're bringing it back to auburn. >> we said we wanted to go from good to great. i can sit here tonight and tell you that the auburn tigers are the best football team in the united states tonight. >> that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. "early today" sports is brought to you by, touch of gray. get rid of some gray. never all. why a heavyweight hollywood couple plan to boycott this year's oscars. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead.

plus, she's launched her very own crusade to beautify the city that she loves. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. i mentioned it's going to get wet in the pacific northwest and enjoy today. one of the last die days you'll see in a while for seattle. temperatures warm up, along with that, pacific moisture.

chance of rain wednesday and include sunday as well. rain showers moving in this morning in much of california. there's going to be a chance of showers pretty much anywhere north say about to san jose. medford, a little light rain too. by wednesday that wet weather is more focused to the north. drying out. warming up, too, though. l.a., san diego, falls springs to phoenix, in a little warming trend throughout the next couple of days. if huge watching on ksnv, new at silver screen crime classic manhattan melodrama. enjoy tuesday afternoon at the bijou, the clark county library. that's your pacific event of day. >> i know that library. that's where my mom lives. >> well, tell her to go. >> yeah. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. you can officially count michael douglas as one of the lucky ones. in his first tv interview since undergoing treatment for throat cancer, douglas tells "today" show's matt lauer that his cancer is

gone. and he's beaten cancer. he says he's eating like a pig to put back on the pounds he lost during the experience. don't miss matt's interview later this morning on "today." elsewhere, sources tell msnbc.com sarah palin's show was not cancelled. that it was completely fabricated. england's daily mail reports because of as a cohost ann hathway's spoof, katie holmes and husband tom cruise will boycott this year's academy awards. sources tell "us magazine" that they plan as natural a pregnancy as possible. he'll be a fun dad. right? >> a couple comedies, being a daddy. how it works with comedians.

add a.m. sandler does a lot of movies for kids now. >> going to jump-start his career. we'll see him in a whole new light. all right. this comes to us from knbc tv news where one woman has made it her personal mission to clean up her town. when paula is not working as a real estate agent, she is getting rid of graffiti. she started about 12 years ago when the city told her it would take 30 days to paint over one spot. now she orders the city's colors and works as a one-woman army to hide the imperfections and bring out the beaut any a city that she loves. i'm veronica de la cruz and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day on your nbc station.

in new york city, from the ground and the skies, pigeons are a dime a dozen. in belgium, however, one just sold for $200,000. a chinese investor bought the specially breeded blueprint purely for status. the breeder is selling his stock because his sons aren't interested in the business. the buyer named his pricey pigeon the great wall. speaking of breaking it down, once a dance duo in china, they know a thing or two. they are bull doser drivers. despite their impressive

performances from draw hundreds of onlookers, they haven't quit their day jobs. regularly construction workers, they meet after work to perfect their routines, believe it or not. wow. well, mom may have told you to stay out of the cold to avoid catching the flu, but some say the cold is the perfect cure. more than 150 swimmers in estonia took a dip in the river swearing by its health benefits. they say it makes them feel great. the portable saunas probably don't hurt, either. wow. health benefits in the city's river. probably not the hudson. >> no, not the hudson. do you have an issue getting in the hot tub with a lot of other people? because i do. >> yeah, probably -- yeah. not my choice of activities. >> as long as it's my own, that's fine. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc -- the healing continues in tucson, arizona. tonight, a church blocks from saturday's deadly shooting will hold a mass of healing in honor of the victims.

president obama's committee on the mishap in the gulf had hold its final recommendations to prevent mishaps in the future. and in new york, memorabilia belonging to the late dennis hopper, aukded off. 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 is a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. today, take the closer look inside the mind of the gunman behind the tragedy in tucson. and jersey shore reality star snooki talks to matt lauer about her new novel. now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm veronica de la cruz. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a great tuesday.

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