[ cheers and applause ] ♪ this morning on "early today" -- hope in tucson. the most promising signs yet for congresswoman gabrielle giffords' recovery. snow emergency. a nasty storm moves into the northeast after paralyzing the south. and drenching down under. dozens gossing after surging floodwaters in australia spread. 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. today, we begin with certain survival. that's the reported update for

from doctors who say congresswoman gabrielle giffords has a "101% chance of surviving." this after disturbing details surface in the hours leading up to saturday's shooting. nbc's jay gray has more from tucson. >> reporter: while many don't know the victims, they all share their pain. ♪ hallelujah at sano dia and several other churches across the city, thousands gathered for a mass of healing. >> let's rid our communities of violence. >> reporter: there are also now the first signs of emotion and anguish from the gunman's family. jared loughner's family issued a written statement which says in part, there are no words that can possibly express how we feel. we wish there were so we could make you feel better. we don't understand why this happened. we care very deeply about the victims and their families. we are so very sorry for their loss.

inside the home, federal agents now say they found a profanity laced note from loughner expressing that he wanted gabrielle giffords to die, but doctors at university medical center say so far the congresswoman has been too much of a fighter for that to happen. >> i'm happy to say she's holding her own. >> reporter: her husband, mark kelly, holding his hand. the family released these photos of this constant vigil at her bedside. surgeons say it will be a difficult recovery, but that giffords has already made significant progress. >> in fact, she's able to generate her own breaths. she's breathing on her own. she has no right to look this good and she does. we're hopeful. >> reporter: jay gray, nbc news, tucson. >> meanwhile, the president will travel to tucson today taking on the role of the nation's healer in chief. he's scheduled to speak alongside members of congress.

administration officials say he'll strike a tone of tolerance in civility. tracie potts is in washington for us with more on that. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. the white house tells us this speech will focus on the victims and their lives. not so much a political speech. the president and first lady traveling later this afternoon to the university of arizona for that memorial service tonight. they will be accompanied by minority leader now in the house nancy pelosi. eric holder the attorney general for the united states, janet napolitano, the homeland security secretary and others. as you can imagine, it's open to the public. they're expecting a lot of people there as well as tight security. now back here on capitol hill later this morning, members of congress will get a security briefing from capitol police and from the fbi about what they do to be safer out in their districts and events like the one we saw last weekend. later today members of the house will come to the floor for the first time publicly and express their condolences and thoughts

about what happened and expect to pass a resolution honoring the victims and the heroes in condemning the attacks last saturday. lynn? >> tracie potts in washington. thanks so much. now to our other big story this morning. a snow and ice storm has shut down much of the country's south is now hammering the northeast, threatening to dump a foot or more of snow. cities from philadelphia to portland, maine, have deployed thousands of plows as the third snowstorm in as many weeks rolls through the region. across the south, every state by except for florida reported snow on the ground yesterday, with airlines forced to cancel nearly 2,000 flights. we're going to have much more on this storm with nbc meteorologist bill karins. that's coming up in just a few minutes. first, here's a look at other stories making news early today in america -- police in new york are looking for tips that will lead to them to a female suspect who robbed an elderly woman. surveillance shows the mugger grabbed the 81-year-old's purse

and knocked her to the ground as he ran away. the victim suffered a fractured shoulder and cut to her forehead. in pennsylvania, a broken water main flood a ten-block area and in 90 minutes, gushed about 8 million gallons of water. crews have drained the area, but the damage has already been done. basements, cars and other properties were waterlogs and a crater now sits where the break occurred. and in ohio, what could be the world's largest clogging is grabbing lots of attention. thousands are logging on and using their computer keyboard to operate the claw for a chance to win anything from leather chaps to fake teeth shipped to your door. but if you're thinking of playing, you may want to get in some practice time. you only get one shot and the current wait time is eight hours. now let's get a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins way very busy weather channel forecast. good morning to you.

>> welcome back. i know you already have your leather chaps. we don't have to worry about you. >> and my fake teeth. >> exactly. talk about the historic nor'easter. nobody traveling by car or plane in much of new england. lightning strikes and thundersnow out there. a lot of people reporting it across connecticut. literally a snowstorm with thunder. you see lightning flashes in the sky. connecticut getting a historical storm. many areas already over a foot of snow, heading up to two feet. also a significant storm system coming into the pick northwest. dined of book ends. northeast and northwest getting nailed. it's been a cold air mass in place. even snow, or at least had it earlier this evening. areas that don't usually see a lot. seattle had snow for a while, now over to rain. portland around freezing. we will deal with freezing rain there. notice that pink coloring. eventually the warmer air will win out. so the longer you wait to travel out there, the better the roads will become in all area, but the high elevations getting a lot of snow. spokane getting significant

snow. 48 inches by tomorrow. that's quick look tucson into phoenix, your weather is dry and clear today. well, lynn, all that bad weather's going to continue. no end in sight this week for the pacific northwest. the new focal point for the bad storms. >> all right. bill karins, thanks so much. coming up, the iphone end and do you think a degree from cornell is guarantee for a top job? think again. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, a brush with the law for the former homeless man turned golden voice announcer. the cavs hit a new low and carmelo anthony is still a denver nugget for now. 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 -- arizona has approved an emergency law to ban protests near funerals. the measure was rushed through to prevent a fundamentalist kansas church from picketing near tomorrow's funeral for 9-year-old christina green who was killed in saturday's mass shooting in tucson. the west borough baptist church planned to protest saying the funerals are god's punishment for tolerance of homosexuality. australian authorities are warning that floodwaters are entering brisbane. at least 2,200 people have died in northeastern australia since devastating rains began in november. in oklahoma, an inmate whose

execution has been postponed three times took place. 38-year-old jeffrey david matthews was put to death after killing his uncle. he received lethal injection. and it's safe to assume one west virginia family won't have trouble remembering exactly when they welcomed their baby boy. zane morgan was born at 11:11 a.m. on 1-11-11. if that's not enough for you, he weighed in at 7 pounds 11 ounces. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,671 after adding 34 points yesterday. the s&p rose 4 points. the nasdaq gained 9. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei was up 2 points while in hong kong, the hang seng climbed 365. stocks broke a three-day slump tuesday thanks in part to cautious optimism from some of the nation's largest retailers.

the day started off on an upswing with upbeat earnings from sears holdings. the retailer's shares added 6% after raising its outlook above wall street's estimates. a better than expected earnings report from tiffany & company offered proof that americans who have cash these days are in a spending mood. tiff nip upped its full-year forecast after reporting a double-digit jump in holiday sales. however, it wasn't a happy holiday season for struggling talbots. they tumbled 17%. meanwhile, energy shares pushed the s&p and the nasdaq higher to settle oil above $91 a barrel. verizon unveiled its long-awaited iphone with apple. it ends at&t's run as the exclusive verizon carrier. shares fell 1.5% for both.

executives of airbus have high hopes for what could be the largest order ever in aviation history. india's low-cost carrier indigo has placed a provisional order for 150 airbus 20s including the new eco conscience neos. the deal has a potential price at that time tag of $15.6 billion. tough times at myspace. it's laying off nearly half its staff, some 500 employees. finally -- landing an elite job has more to do with your pedigree than your gpa. a startling study found the only shoo-ins at prestigious law firms and investment banks are grads with degrees in the nation's top schools -- harvard, yale, princeton, stanford and wharton. not even columbia makes the cat. and one superstar sinks nearly half his team's points,

but the crowd pleaser at the lakers/cavaliers game was a buzzer beater from half-court. your early morning sports headlines are just ahead. two significant weather events, the nor'easter and a big rain event for the pacific northwest. your wednesday forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, last night denver nuggets forward carmelo anthony proved that trade rumors aren't going to get in his way. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> hello and good morning. one report says the trade was a done deal. her to says it's dead in the water. one thing we know for sure, carmelo was a nugget last night against the suns. mellow had a slow start, but nuggets won easily. take off your dancing shoes, never looked back. ended up with 28. the kings and the wizards, two of the worst teams in the league but they put on a heck of a show. nick young a ringleader scored a career high 43. they blow the lead in the final seconds. these are the kings. kurt heinrich gives washington a five-point lead in o.t. with the jumper.

wizards win 136-133. to l.a., they embarrassed the cavaliers. champs beat cleveland by 55 points, 112-57. that's got to hurt. college basketball, michigan state hosting wisconsin, korie lucious made one basket all night, and it was a big one. ties the game in the final minute with a three from the corner. off to overtime. no problem finding the bottom of the net. game high 26. michigan state stomped wisconsin, 64-61. unranked bc plays the spartans on saturday. >> now, number 16 illinois, andrew jones was in the right place at the right time giving penn state the lead. under two seconds left, they pull off a big upset, 57-55. the top scorer in the nation is now byu's jimmer fredette. he finished with 47 against utah, hit from anywhere and everywhere, including a buzzer beater from just inside half-court. byu cruising 104-79.

that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. >> announcer: "early today" sports is brought to you by lectric shave. blade close, lectric smooth. a medical license is suspended while 007 gets his license back. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, how this young boy has been given the ultimate helping hand. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. the first in a series of storms moved into the pacific southwest. snow earlier in the night is. seattle, freezing rain in and around portland. eventually it all turns to rain. predicting as much as two to three inches in the cascade and everybody here in the i-5 corridor, at least an inch of rain. the first in a series of significant weather events. three days in row of on and off rain in the southwest. arizona, you're fine. watching in salinas, california, check out the national steinbeck center museum. some of the proceeds going to charity. that's your pick event of the day. >> all right, bill. thanks. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. it's the end of an era for one tv family.

david nelson, who starred with his parents and brother on "the adventures of ozzie & harriet" has died at age 74 from battling colon cancer. he was the last of the iconic tv family. dr. conrad murray's medical license has been suspended after a california judge ruled he must stand for involuntary manslaughter for the death of michael jackson. but one license is being renewed, that of james bond. 007 and daniel craig will return to the big screen in 2012 with the working title "bond 23 an ode to the 23rd installment of the spy series." and finally, the man whose golden voice made him after overnight sensation may be singing a different tune after calls to police of a domestic disturbance. ted williams was in los angeles with a reunion when the group apparently got into a heated argument.

no charges were fired and filed and williams has been released. >> nobody wanted to see that. a good story way sad turn. >> no more. >> i'm work on that. this comes to us from wcmh nbc 4 in columbus, ohio, where one young boy overcoming hard challenges is now looking forward to his most rewarding. doug was born with no fingers on his right hand but has fought through his disability to accomplish some amazing things like playing the violin and as a boy scout meeting the president. now with his new prosthetic he calls his terminator hand, who knows what he's going to be doing next. first, he says he's going to be showing it off to all his friends. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

one race in poland went to the dogs, literally. more than 400 canines competed in a dog sled race this past weekend. organizers of the course say it's one of the toughest in europe because the mountainous terrain. kicking off the dogsled season. a baby calf is cute. but a two-headed baby calf is just down right bizarre. in the republic of georgia, this new arrival has the village seeing double. with four eyes and three ears, the double headed calf is being cared for by a farmer after its mother rejected them. the anomaly has put the small town on the map by attracting

curious visitors. >> while that's a little creepy, this little guy's quirky look is adorable. a cross-eyed possum in germany has garnered national attention. the animal has facebook fans, even a stuffed animals in the works. and a theme song. veterinarians believe the eyes likely a genetic problem, don't cause too many problems since possums use their sense of smell to navigate. and it now has one more fan. i'm tracking that guy down. >> nice. >> you need to put a pair of sunglasses on that guy. >> it's adorable. where's your heart, bill? come on. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc -- as we mentioned earlier, president obama and the first lady will travel to tucson to attend a service honoring the victims of saturday's shooting. the president is expected to speak at a memorial event taking place at the university of arizona. former president bill

clinton is in hate toy mark the one-year anniversary of the devastating earthquake that killed over 230,000 people and left more than a million homeless. and happy birthday to actress kirstie alley. today she celebrates the big 6-0. 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. al roker is live in boston with the latest on the major snowstorm hammering the northeast. and funny men vince vaughn and kevin james talk about the new comedy "the dilemma." 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