this morning on "early today," winter of disconnect as republicans push to repeal health care reform, a new poll finds opposition to the law is slipping. out of exile. a once feared and reviled haitian dictator makes a surprise return visit. and golden ticket. which star shined on one of hollywood's biggest nights? captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning on this martin luther king jr. day. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with a more civil

union. on capitol hill tomorrow members of congress will pick up where they left off before the tragedy in tucson. will the battle over health care reform take on a different tone? nbc's tracie potts joins us with more on that. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. well, it looks promising at least at this point as the house begins debate tomorrow. lawmakers saying they can do this without being disagreeable, one of the some of the angry rhetoric we've heard in the past, personal attacks, and questioning each other's motives. this morning we have results from a new associated press-gsk poll that finds the public is almost evenly split on support for this health care law. strong opposition is down since the election. now only about one in four americans say they want to get rid of the health law completely. in terms of civility, we may see more of that not only this week with the health debate, butç nt

week before president obama addresses the senate and house in the state of the union. some senators, some members of the house are saying they will set together as democrats and republicans, not on separate sides of the aisle as they normally do, in a show of civility. perhaps largely symbolic. it would be something brb here in congress. lynn. >> tracie potts in washington. tracie, thank you. with haiti still reeling and now grappling with a political crisis. former dictator jean claude "baby doc" duvalier suddenly returned to the country 25 years after he was overthrown by popular uprising. duvalier accused in the brutal deaths of thousands and the theft of millions from the country arrived without warning on a flight from france where he has lived after being forced into exile. it's not immediately clear what his plans are, but his long-time companion told reporters he will stay in the country for three

days. he returns as the nation struggles to resolve a deadlock in the first round of presidential elections which sparked widespread allegations of fraud. across the country in hollywood, it was all glitz and glamour last night as the stars strutted down the red carpet for the golden globe awards. mark barger has all the highlights from beverly hills. >> reporter: lib, the golden globes did spread the wealth last night among the major films that were nominated, but it gave a resoubding like to one film in particular. >> "social network." >> reporter: the social network found lots of friends at the golden globes. four awards, including best drama. >> thank you all for an amazing year in movies. >> reporter: colin firth displayed a bit of mirth accepting best actor in a drama for "the king's speech." >> this is all that stands between me and a harley-davidson. >> reporter: while natalie portman took best actress for "black swan."

>> this is as much a great honor. >> reporter: honors for the best musical or a comedy went to "the kids are all right." and one of its stars, annette benning, won best actress. >> it was a labor of love. >> reporter: "barney's version" brought paul giamatti kudos. as best actor in a comedy. "the fighter" scored a one-two punch. an exuberant melissa leo won best supporting actress. >> mom, i got a golden globe! >> reporter: christian bale took best supporting actor. >> we've been spoiled rotten at that table over there. >> reporter: in television, "big bang theory's" jim parsons scored as best actor in a comedy, while "glee" registered a triple triumph, best comedy and supporting acting honors. >> i'm nothing if not falsely humble. >> reporter: "mad men's" run ended. "boardwalk empire" took the prize, and steve burb emmy took the honors. perhaps the most memorable moment came with michael

douglas' appearance on stage. the actor's victory over throat cancer made him perhaps the night's biggest winner. and now that the golden globes are in the books, attention turns to the oscars coming up in the next month. only once in the last five years have the academy awards and golden globes agreed on the top picture of the year, and that was in 2008 with "slumdog millionaire." in beverly hills, i'm mark barger, nbc news. lynn back to you. >> all right, thanks so much. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. flood advisories remain in place in counties across oregon and m in others as heavy rains saturated the land overflowing the banks of nearby rivers. forecasters say the weather system which extends into parts of washington state is likely to stay in place until tuesday. but some waters have receded, motorists are warned to stay off the roads. in california, three people are dead and several more seriously hurt from a violent

ten-car pile-up. police say the accident was the result of one car speeding into oncoming traffic and going airborne, plowing in to a line of vehicles. the busy thoroughfare was shut down for ten hours. and in missouri, the george brett bridge came falling down. the department of transportation imploded the, quote, worn out structure which will be replaced with a new bridge that can withstand heavy flows of traffic. engineers say it will take about two months to rebuild. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. he has your weather channel forecast. good morning. >> good morning. it was warm and beautiful in southern california for this time of year. we picked up over the last 48 hours here over an inch of rain and n a few spots. portland, you picked up about 1.5 inches over the weekend. we're getting a little bit of a break. we still have rainshowers out there, but the majority of that storm has now exited.

the rivers are still cresting, though, and a lot of those will be going down in the next two days. this high pressure system going to continue with gorgeous weather here from california to nevada. utah, arizona. now, as far as the rainfall goes, there's only a little left. up along the spine of the mountains. the heavier, more steady rain continuing here mostly up around belling ham, and it's been so warm. it's not just had rain. it was that we melted so much of that impressive snow pack. we had temperatures that have been in the 50s now. even at night the temperatures are dropping off. we continue very warm up here, and that's what's causing a lot of the flooding problems too. we saw one location lost two feet of snow over the weekend. that's a quick look at your 66.ç no complaints there. pasco, washington, mild, near 60. then, unfortunately, another system comes into the northwest. i'll tell you when that's going

to arrive a little later. >> all right, bill. thanks so much. earnings front and center on wall street. caution on chinese currency. yet another choice for your morning cup of joe. your "early morning" business headlines are straight ahead. plus, speaking of business, how much hollywood business did arnold schwarzenegger lose while he was governor. we have our own staggering estimate. >> the l.a. clippers are no longer pushovers and no now fight to prove it. the clock strikes midnight, and they back up their trash talking in a big way. 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 congresswoman gabrielle giffords has been upgraded from critical to serious condition since she is now breathing on her own and no longer on a ventilator. meanwhile, james eric fuller, a victim of last week's shooting, has been ordered to undergo a

mental evaluation after lashing out at a tea party leader after taping a television show. he has been charged with making threats, intimidation, and disorderly conduct. the father of the youngest tucson victim says some of her organs have been donated helpinç to save the life of a young girl in the boston area. tear gaffs fired at demonstrators after ongoing protests overly poor living conditions, high unemployment, government corruption, and repression continue in tunisia. leaders are poised announce a new coalition government to try to restore calm after the country's dictator was forced flee last week. and aides say prince william and kate middleton are considering asking guests to donate to charity instead of bringing wedding gifts. they were determined to not to make their wedding seem

austentacious. the dow opens after gaining 55 points on friday. the s&p added nine points. the nasdaq rose 20. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo the nikkei edged up three points, but in hong kong the hang seng fell 126. markets will begin a holiday shortened week at two-year highs tomorrow, but the steady rise has some wondering if what goes up must come down. earnings season kicks into high gear this week and with the s&p on track to test that psychological 1,300 mark, report cards from bank of america, apple, and ge, the current owner of this network, will be closely watched. traders will also keep an eye on a meeting overseas where european finance ministers are discussing a sovereign debt crisis that has global markets on edge last week. housing data tops the economic agenda. the national association of home builders survey comes out tomorrow followed by housing starts on wednesday and december

existing home sales on thursday. overseas this morning, chinese shares were sharply lower after beijing raised reserve requirements for that country's banks on friday. china's currency will be closely watched ahead of the chinese president's visit to washington this week. finally, starbucks is atting some new lingo to its line-up, but for those who choose not to learn a new language to order coffee, just call it an extra large. beginning in some states tomorrowç starbucks is rolling out a 31 ounce trenta size for iced beverages ahead of a nationwide debut in may. thirsty. well, l.a.'s nba showed the champs they're going to fight for city bragging rights, and the bears earn a spot in the nfc title game against the packers. plus, the jets back up all that talk and send the patriots packing. here with the morning headlines straight ahead. sfwlimplgts in weather a bunch of weak storm systems moving through the country. we'll track those for you. your tuesday forecast is coming up.

you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, heading into yesterday's playoff match-up, the patriots arguably boasted football's bes( coach and best quarterback, but this morning it's the new york jets who are headed to the afc championship game.

here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good monday morning. the jets backed up a week's worth of trash talking with a sdis sxif shocking win against the patriots. the jets found the end zone in the second quarter. mark sanchez dumped it off to tomlinson. he's done it so many times with the chargers. now he's doing it with the jets. new york was up 7-3. big moment late in the half after a botched fake punt, sanchez found braylon edwards who got into the end zone. should have been 7-3 at the break, but the jets were now up 14-3. and they added to it in the third. sanchez a perfect toss to holmes who made an even better grab. sanchez's third td of the game, and the jets were cruising 21-11. shonn greene put it away in the fourth with a 16 yard run. check out the celebration. they used the ball as a pillow, but it was the patriots that were put to sleep. rex ryan loved every minute of it. just like the nfc. the six seed has knocked off the one seed. jets won it 28-21, they play the steelers next week in pittsburgh for the afc crown.

to a cold and windy chicago. bears made it look easy against the seahawks. jay cutler's first pass was a good one. hit greg olson in stride, 58 yards for the score. the weather was freezing, but cutler was red hot. two touchdowns. he ran in another. the clock struck midnight for the seahawks. the bears won it 35-24. what a week in the nba for the clippers. first they beat the heat, and now the defending champs. blake griffin, the baby hook, the foul and the lead. he had 18 points and 15 boards. 12 minutes later eric gordon with the dagger. he led everybody with 30. it got ugly in the final minute. grifen -- griffin and odom were tied up. all four players ejected. it's not a rivalry until the other team wins and the clippers win 99-92. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. >> narrator: "early today" sports brought to you by just for men mustache and beard.

keep your edge. the box office winner and brand new hollywood dad. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, over much of the nation the snow shovel is all too present these days, but the winter tool can be used for much more than just hard work. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. rain, but no storm going through. we have a consistent flow of moisture coming in here, and that's going to cause clouds and showers. we're dry for midford, southward. beautiful in arizona and california. tuesday morning it's going to be dry in the pacific northwest. then a storm system will move in during the day, especially the late morning into the afternoon. we'll get another little chunk of rain here, but it shouldn't evaporate the rivers much. rivers still should continue to recede. well, if you are watching us on k-5 news in seattle, washington, learn about the changing world of women over the past 100 years. through their purses. see a collection of over 3,000 handbags at "clutch it" at the museum of history and industry. join me, lynn, and all my friends there as we go throughout the afternoon. >> yeah, i can really help them with, like, 2003 to the present. i could really throw in a good 1 00 in there. now here's an early

look at this morning's entertainment. last night in beverly hills a business oscar favorite emerged at the golden globes. as we told you at the top of the show the facebook tale, "the social network" was the big winner with hollywood's foreign press association last night, taking four prizes, including best drama and best director. elsewhere at the box office, with slightly less than expected "the green hornet" finished in the top spot with $34 million. taking second place was what some are calling a chick flick. the dilemma earned $17 million. just five days after confirming he was going to be a dad, owen i'm sure we're going to see that

coming up. and this comes to us from wpxi tv in pittsburgh, pennsylvania, where in nearby beaver county all you need is a good shovel to win a race. kids and a few adults launched full speed ahead down a big snow-covered hill seat odd shovels for the 49th annual snow shovel riding championship. the fastest person down the hill and across the line, of course, wins. getting across proved difficult for some folks, but it was so much fun, no one seemed to care at all about winning. maybe safety. >> yes. the medics were standing by. >> no kidding. i don't doubt it. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the today on your nbc station. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

argentina has opened its first beatles museum in buenos aires. it comes from someone's private collection of over 85,000 gadgets, puppets, and games. the owner was in the guinness book of world records for owning the larnlest collection of beatles souvenirs in the world. one pageant in india shows that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. women competed in a plus size beauty contest with minimum entry weight of 175 pounds. the pageant hopes to send a message about body image and acceptance. contestants slip into casual wear, evening gowns, and even

swit suits, and the winner scores the new title along with a year long modelling contest. it is crime fighting with the push of a button, with the help of a vending machine. as part of the search for new ways to keep the streets safe in japan, a beverage company installed vending machines equipped with a security camera and an alarm. customers can then trigger the machine when they feel threatened. by a random man in the surgical mask. >> love that. >> i know. >> that's like the perfect, you know -- >> it's like you getting ready to put your coins in. >> and you lurking in the corner. yes. >> look out, lynn. >> it is time for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. across the nation schools and government offices will be closed giving communities the opportunity to honor martin luther king jr. the holiday celebrates the birth of the late civil rights leader who would have been 82. also celebrating birthday, first lady michelle obama. she turns 47 today.

and hitting the auction block in arizona, the 1963 pontiac bonneville ambulance that carried john f. kennedy's casket in washington d.c. following the president's assassination in dallas. in it kennedy's wife, jackie, and brother robert accompanied the casket first to the bethesda naval hospital and later to the capitol. all day long you can stay on top of the latest developments and 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." "today" breaks down the biggest winners and losers from the golden globes with a live report from los angeles. and find out the latest on congresswoman gabrielle giffords' recovery. keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports, and more. i'm lynn berry. thank you 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