this morning on "early today" back at it. republicans on capitol hill continue their fight for reform. a dramatic rescue of a man who survived 16 hours buried under mud and rubble. and lacrossing the line? a professional lacrosse team comes under fire for its racy halftime show. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello, and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry, and today we begin with the house call.

lawmakers return to capitol hill today where the debate over health care reform begins again in the house. meanwhile, one congressional leader says he is skipping tomorrow's state dinner at the white house. nbc's tracie potts joins us live with all those details. good morning to you. >> good morning, lynn. let's start with health care because the debate begins today in the house, and republicans have some real issues with the government requiring everyone to get health insurance. they also say they're not quite sure how much all this is going to cost. especially for businesses. the congressional budget office is saying if they're successful in repealing the health law, it could add $30 billion to the bottom line. lawmakers are promising today's debate will be civil following the arizona shootings. also, today there will be new legislation introduced in the house that would prevent those high capacity magazines from being sold in the united states. the type that was used in the arizona shooting. this is being sponsored by new

york representative carolyn mccarthy, who, by the way, her husband was murdered by a gunman who was using one of those types of magazines. they were banned for a decade in this country. now very few states in the united states ban those magazines. also today, we know that the white house is going to be sponsoring a state dinner for china's president hu jintao that arrives later today trying to mend relations between the two countries. john boehner has said he will not attend. >> tracie potts in washington. thanks so much. well, americans appear to be satisfied with how president obama handled the shooting in tucson. a new washington post-abc news poll shows nearly eight in ten gave him high marks for his response to the incident. that positive assessment spanned across the political spectrum. with 7 1% of republicans approving of his leadership following the tragedy. a majority, 57%, said they support a nationwide ban on the type of high capacity magazine clip used in tucson.

the incident did not, however, change support for tougher gun control measures. 52% favor stricter laws, a relatively constant number in recent years. meanwhile, more good news. congresswoman gabrielle giffords continues house of representatives remarkable recovery. although she is still in serious condition, her husband says she has smiled and even gave him a neck rub. well, president obama says this year's martin luther king jr. holiday was an opportunity for americans to remind themselves what the nationç is all about by engaging in community service. the first family did just that yesterday. helping to paint decorations at a washington middle school. yesterday was also the first lady's 47th birthday, and the crowd surprised her by singing "happy birthday." in atlanta the king family gathered at the ebenezer baptist church where pastor king was a past pastor. they talked about his legacy of nonviolence in the wake of the tucson shootings. now here's a look at some other stories making news early today

in america. in oregon hundreds of people and as in m as 40 homes were stranded when rising floodwaters took out a 900 foot section of a road. gushing water continued to tear through the asphalt and dumped loads of debris rendering the road impassable. authorities say it could take several weeks before the road is fixed. in virginia amateur video shows a gas pump on fire after a car crashed into it. witnesses say a man pulled into the station, entered the store, and when he returned to his vehicle, drove directly into the pump. he fled the scene, but later turned helms into police who are investigating. in texas an apparent homeless man is lucky to be alive after being rescued from the back of a trash truck. rescuers say the truck's driver was compacting the trash when he heard the man screaming. his hips were crushed, but he felt well enough to wave as he was hoisted out. and in massachusetts the boston blazers lacrosse team is

under fire for a raunchy halftime act involving a mascot getting birthday lap dances from several of the team's players. dancers, rather. outraged fans reportedly left the arena, and in response to the firestorm, management has released an apology and they promise free tickets to future games to any offended patrons. now for a look at your national and regional weather with nbc meteorologist bill karens with the weather cham forecast. bill, good morning. >> if your kid, lynn, mommy, why are they dancing like that? >> that's when we leave the stadium and we head so to some g-rated movie at the movie theater, yeah. that's awkward. >> they had ants in their pants. that was it. >> good one, bill. dad answer. i love it. >> good morning, everyone. we have a storm system, a weak one, heading into the pacific northwest. we had a lot of melting of the ri rather high, but we're through the worst of the flooding.

some of the best weather in the country continues to be the desert southwest. now, as far as travel weather goes, into the east coast, anyone taking an airplane, really nasty conditions from new york, new england, and d.c. there will be airport delays that will ripple across the country, but as far as this storm goes, it doesn't look that bad. we are seeing it moving on shore today. we'll have areas of light rain and the temperatures are so warm, the snow elevations are extremely high. radar is not picking up a lot reason. just light returns with some rain, and that's about it. the forecast for today, another day definitely you have to carry the umbrella out there. temperatures are mild. we're at 41 in seattle. 37 in medford, and you notice that's the only wet location. beautiful in l.a. san diego, doing good in phoenix.

, not heading your way. of course, wednesday forecast coming up. >> all right. thanks so much. also coming up, the latest on the departure of apple's steve jobs. the next possible wikileaks target, and the liberation of employees at one swiss bank. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, did ricky gervais earn himself an invite not to return next year? >> was it enough? another unbeaten fall in college basketball, and is rick blake the best in the nba? he certainly was yesterday. you're watching "early today."

stoudemire. good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. new video out of brazil shows

the dramatic rescue of a man who survived 16 hours trapped under 13 feet of mud and rubble following last week's deadly floods. despite that ordeal, doctors say he is recovering well in intensive care. new documents made public yesterday, italian prosecutors allege prime minister silvio berlusconi financially supported and had sex with a "significant number of young prostitutes." the revelation is part of an investigation into whether berlusconi paid to have sex with an underaged nightclub dancer. berlusconi has denied any wrong doing. scientists for the u.s. geological survey are warning that california faces the risk of being hit by a so-called super storm that could cause four to five times as much economic damage as a large earthquake. the hypothetical scenario created using california's flood history and climate change projections describes what could be a ten-foot wall of water flooding nearly a quarter of the

state's homes. it died out around 8,000 years ago, but in just five years the woolly mammoth could soon be walking the earth again. japanese researchers say they will launch a project this year to revive the ice age paciderm through the cloning of cells through the carcass of a mammoth preserved in sign earian permafrost. here's how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,787 after gaining 55 points last friday. the s&p added nine points. the nasdaq rose 20. taking a look overseas trading this morning. in tokyo the nikkei climbs 16 points, but in hong kong, the hang seng shed two.ç after a six-month seb abbing cal for -- steve jobs is taking his second medical leave of absence in two years. only this time he is not saying when he will be back. jobs says he will still be

involved in any major decisions and maintain his role as ceo while apple's chief operating officer tim cook steps in to oversee day to day business. apple is due to report fourth quarter earnings later today after the bell. meanwhile, expectations are high for citigroup's fourth quarter report card today. last month the government sold off the bulk of its stake in the bailed out bank and citi shares have climbed 55% over the last year. in the wake of widespread publicity over its recent investment in facebook, goldman sachs is barring u.s. investors from getting in on a private offering for the social networking site. goldman is reportedly concerned about violating strict securities and exchange commission guidelines about the amount of publicity allowed in private offerings. a former swiss bank employee handed over data to wikileaks julian assange yesterday. proof he claims that some 2,000 people, including 40 "pillars of society" are guilty of tax evasion and possible criminal

activity. airbus has landed the title of world's largest plane maker for the third year in a row. taking in 574 aircraft orders last year versus rival boeing's 530. keep an eye on delta today, along with most u.s. airlines. delta is expected to report a profitable fourth quarter. finally, swiss bank ubs is doing away with its controlling ways. after revising its 44 page dress code, employees are now free to wear red underwear, black nail polish, and even eat garlic, none of which were permitted before yesterday. hmm. well, the huskies pull off a late win. orangemen try to hold off an eastern rival. and amare tries to douse the suns. plus, first he was getting noticed for his ducks. now fans wonder if he is the best player, period. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. >> well, we're going to watch

our messy winter storm exiting new england, and a new storm will be heading to the middle of the country. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you are just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, after nine games out with a leg injury, celtics big

man kevin garnett was back in the saddle last night and quickly road boston's rescue stealing a victory from the magic. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. there was a full slate of nba action yesterday to honor martin luther king jr. let's get to it. we will start in boston. magic and celts down to the wire. tie game. paul pierce, the jumper and foul. under a minute to play. kevin garnett returned after missing nine games, and came up bigç in the final seconds. stripped jam ear nelson, and that's your ballgame. 109-106, celts win. >> kobe bryant faked, faked, and he had 21. this bucket put the lakers up by ten. they went on to win it. blake griffin it did it all against the pacers. the spin and in. he had 28 at the half. we know griffin can duj, but he can also shoot. he finished with an nba season high 47. clips won 114-107.

amar stoudemire seouled showed his old team what they've been miss. dropped a seen high 41 on the suns. it wasn't enough. channing frye with a dagger from the outside and phoenix won its third straight 129-121. final seconds. tie game. joe johnson shot well off the mark. evans bailed him out with a foul. johnson hit both foul shots to take the lead. sacramen sacramento, a last chance. cousins with an inbound pass pass. airmailed it into the stands. what in the world was that? college hoops one place the syracuse-pitt game. the panthers were off and running the other way. gilbert browning, huge dunk. number four pitt beat third ranked syracuse, and, finally, great finish between number 8 uconn, and villanova. walker with the tear drop, and villanova was sent home crying. uconn pulled off the upset 61-59. that's your early look at sports

on "early today." i'm fred roggen. >> early today sports is brought to you by touch of gray, get rid of some gray, never all. an entertainment power couple welcomes a new edition to the family. your entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, at times we all like to chug chuckle at the cute dog outfits, but it just so happens that's what saved this cha iowa's life. you're watching "early today." chihuahua

welcome back. for a lot of people back to school, back to skol. today's forecast absolutely gorgeous. southern utah will take 45 degrees in salt lake city. phoenix looks good. tucson, too. l.a. to san diego, sacramento, san francisco. leave the umbrella at home. to the pacific northwest, we got a weak storm system coming in today. showers, but wednesday looks good. temperatures remain mild throughout much of the west as all the cold air is in the middle of the country. let's go to oregon. learn about the stories of african-american pioneers in the portland community prior to world war ii. that's your pacific event of the day. >> thanks so much. now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. sandra bullock spilled the beans to today's al roker. there's only one man in her life, and it's not ryan reynolds. bullock said there will likely

be a collective sigh from women across the country because scarlett johannson's ex is not her lover. her son lewis is the only man in her life, and he is "all i can handle." nicole kidman and keith urban announce they have a new baby girl. she is their second biological daughter. this time carried to term by a surrogate. finally, some are saying sunday night's biggest loser at the golden globes was host ricky gervais. his jokes roasted some of hollywood's biggest names. robert downey jr. called his introduction hugely mean-spirited. he even secured the foreign press president who called his remarks totally unacceptable while denying he was being roasted himself by angry producers during an hour-long disappearance from the show. sde admit he probably won't be invited back. he also explained during that hour-long break it wasn't that he was in trouble or anything. he just got to choose who he introduced and that happened to

be a break in between. >> who is going to want to do these jobs? there's no love for the host at all anymore. >> i think a lot of people would want to do that job. they're probably just going to keep it a little bitç cleaner next time, but we'll see what happens. this comes to us from wmaq in chicago, illinois, where in nearby crystal lake one chihuahua had one very close call. chico was out for a walk with his owner when a great horned owl swooped in and attacked him. his battle wounds tell the story. he was dragged across the side walk and through the snow with only his tiny little jacket blocking the full brunt of that animal's pierce says claws. he is now afraid of the dark. chico is not afraid of owls. at least not stuffed ones. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

furry friends got special treatment at the vatican yesterday. pets ranging from rabbits to horses gathered in st. peters square for the annual animal blessing. the event celebrates the peace day of st. anthony. in addition, owners were able to take advantage of free veterinarian checks that were offered at the event for their pets. you would think seals would feel right at home in icy waters, but because these seals were born in captivity they were unsure how to handle the conditions and got stuck. work nerz china chipped away at the layers of ice formed within their enclosure. it took a few hours, but soon enough, the little guys emerged and then bathed in the sun to warm up. well, the tasteless treat

savored by dieters is anything but light. behold, the 374 pound rice cake. folks in japan came out to see who could carry it the farthest. the 400-year-old tradition brought out contestants of all ages. kids as young as 2 competed. of course, with a much lighter load. the eventual champ carried the cake 164 feet. there is some parenting skills. hey, 2-year-old, why don't you -- >> i think we need to clarify that that 374 pounds -- the weight was shifted and less for the woman and for the kids. >> i think that that would be a good clarification. time for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. attorney general eric holder is expected to deliver remarks at an event marking national stalking month. 3.4 million adults are stalked every year in the u.s. opening statements are expected in a long-running legal battle over bratz dolls.

mga counterclaims unfairç business practices. mattel was awarded $100 million in the case, but an appeals court overturned the verdict, and the case was sent back for a retrial. and congratulations to actor kevin kosner who turns 56 today. all day long you can stay on top of the latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. 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"." former vice president dick cheney sits down for his first exclusive interview since undergoing heart surgery, and "today" look at what apple ceo steve jobs' medical leave means for the future of apple. 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. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com