this morning on "early today," winter pileup. a fast-moving storm dumped heavy snow on the already snow weary northeast. grim forecast, the congressional budget office puts out sobering numbers on the federal deficit and social security. and going medieval, mexican drug smugglers try a new old approach to get contrand into drug smugglers try a new old approach to get contrand into the u.s. 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. today, we begin with here we go

again. across the east coast, another blast of winter has many wishing an end to an already exhausting season that's not even halfway through. a new storm has dumped fresh snow from virginia to maine. new york city declared a weather emergency and overnight, 2 to 3 inches fell every hour. the city's area airports have remained closed until later this morning. the weather was even a problem for the president. arriving from wisconsin, he was due to return to the white house via helicopter, but marine one was grounded due to the storm forcing the president's motorcade to get into that heavy traffic there and it was slowed to a complete crawl by the snow. for more on this massive snowstorm we go to nbc meteorologist bill karins. all those folks on the west coast grinning ear to ear, thank goodness i live out here. >> it's been a blockbuster banner year. we have school cancellations in the public schools of new york, boston, philadelphia and washington, d.c.

there's millions of parents out there scrambling trying to find out how they're going to take care of their children who have the day off. the snowstorm is exiting this region and these snowfall totals once again, new york city was the winner. i mean how many storms this winter can new york get the highest totals. philadelphia 15 inches, no newark, 14, areas around washington, d.c., at least 9. one storm after another, 50 inches of snow has fallen in new york city in one month. >> it's -- >> never happened before. >> it's unbelievable. thanks so much. and getting around washington today may be tough, but lawmakers looking to tackle the federal deficit have their work cut out for them. a grim estimate from the congressional budget office puts the nation's deficit at just under $1.5 trillion this year. tracie potts joins us from washington with those details. tracie, good morning. >> lynn, good morning. that annual gap between what the federal government spends and what it brings in is now at the

highest point ever, at $1.5 trillion. why? because the government's been trying to put more money in your wallet. remember that tax deal from december, that ran the numbers up. while you get more money, it's tougher for uncle sam to cover all these federal programs. plus we also got word from the congressional budget office that social security is now experiencing a $45 billion deficit, five years earlier than projected. it will be empty, they say, by the year 2037. part of that because of that 2% payroll tax cut we all got starting this year. it is fresh fuel for republicans who say we have got to trim the budget. >> tracie in washington, thanks so much. arizona congresswoman gabrielle giffords has begun an intense regiment of rehabilitation after being removed from intensive care yesterday. she has a long recovery, doctors say she has progressed at,

quote, lightning speed, given the severity of her injuries. in the coming days, medical staff also plan to insert a valve into her breathing tube to help her talk. they are vague about her capacity to form words. new evidence shows suspect jared loughner received lethal injections, solitary confinement and political assassinations into the days leading up to this month's shootings. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. in arizona, an ancient weapon was introduced into the war on drugs. the u.s. border patrol shot video of smugglers using a catapult to move drugs across the u.s./mexican border. mexican authorities were alerted and seized the catapult and 45 pounds of marijuana. in chicago, a suspect in a stolen cab hit high speeds with police. his getaway attempt hit a snag when he was clipped by a school

bus. there were no students on board when the vehicles collided. the suspect tried to make a run for it, but was quickly nabbed. the driver of the bus was taken away on a stretcher. in new york, frigid temperatures created the perfect working conditions for the construction of an ice palace. volunteers and prison inmates are braving the cold to have their centerpiece ready for the saranac lake's annual winter carnival. the castle design was chosen to fit this year's theme of medieval times. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here once again is nbc's meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. good morning once again, bill. >> i'm of the opinion mother nature sooner or later will even things out. >> not on the east coast, right? >> not yet. everyone on the west coast watch out. >> exactly. >> we're going to continue with the great weather out west and there's really no issues out here at all. all the storms continue to track up to the north. bringing in some clouds to washington state. high pressure is well in control

with mild conditions. temperatures this morning, not bad. 40s and 50s. little cooler. still need the winter gear from seattle to medford and boise. much of the state of nevada is actually below freezing this morning. if you're in vegas, a little cool, 63, but sunny, very nice. still in the 50s in the pacific northwest. that's good. l.a., just another day in paradise near 830 degrees. near 69.quick look at your as far as the west goes we're lacking of any big storms through the weekend. looks good. we'll bring you the friday forecast coming up. >> thanks so much. also coming up, foreclosures spike, juniper jumps, a cookie on the market. trust me this is a cookie you've never tried. your business headlines are straight ahead. plus, for his next big role has

john travolta gotten an offer he can't refuse? coming up -- kevin durant goes off on the tim ber vofls, upset in the aussie open, what was the president doing with a packers jersey? 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. the department of homeland security is expected to announce today it will drop the color coded threat alert system put in place following the 9/11 attacks. it is expected to be phased out over the next 90 days. critics felt the system was being used as a political scare tactic. nbc news has learned that amid fierce criticism from the gun industry, the white house has delayed approval of a proposed rule that could help stem the flow of american assault weapons to mexico's drug cartels.

the proposed rule, which faced a deadline earlier this month would have required firearms dealers in the u.s. border states to report multiple sales of guns. a coalition of rabbis published a letter calling on fox news to sanction host glen beck for repeated use of nazi and holocaust imagery and airing attacks on george soros. democratic congressman dennis kucinich is suing a congressional car tear ya for dental injuries he says he suffered after biting into an olive pit in a sandwich wrap he bought there. he's seeking $150,000 in damages. one of your top health headlines on msnbc.com. in 2009, a government package issued controversial guidelines recommending against routine mammograms for women in their 40s and mammograms only every

other year beyond 50. new data suggests the panel may have ignored evidence more frequent mammograms save lives. researchers found annual mammograms starting at 40, save 65,000 more women from breast cancer than mammograms done every other year in women over 50. for more information on this and other health stories, check out the health page at msnbc.com. >> "early today" health is brought to you by vagisil wash with odor block. the confident clean. an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,985, after adding 8 points yesterday. the s&p rose 5 points. the nasdaq gained 20. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei climbed 76 points, in hong kong the hang sang lost 63. the dow will probably dance around the magical 12,000 number again today, after briefly breaking through the

psychological barrier wednesday. weak forecasts from boeing and xerox weighed on stocks while energy and material sectors gave markets a boost. no surprise from the fed, which announced it will stick with its $600 billion bond buying program. eastman kodak tumbled 18% after reporting its income plummeted 95% last quarter. juniper led with a 6% gain thanks to better than expected earnings. december new purchases notched a 17.5% rise over november but sales for all of 2010 fell to the lowest level on record. meanwhile according to realty trac, foreclosures are up in 72% of more than 200 cities tracked due to unemployment, not shoddy mortgages. ford has recalled more than 400,000 windstars due to faulty parts that could lead to a loss of steering twoel in '99 to '03 minivans. facebook has found another way to rake in ad bucks. as of yesterday if you used the

site's locater to check into a store or give a brand a thumb's up with the like button, it may show up as a sponsored story paid for by advertisers on your friend's page. a few stocks to keep an eye on. chipmaker qualcom was up in late trade thanks to upbeat earnings after the bell. starbucks, however, slipped in response to a weak full year forecast. blockbuster profits at netflix sent its shares soaring after the bell. cookies and milk are a no-brainer but cookies and pizza? digiorno and toll house have wrapped up your cravings into one box. we thank you for that. a top it ten college hoops battle, a top seed goes down in australia, and has the president switched sides? plus, oklahoma city's kevin durant lays down some thunder on the timberwolves. your sports headlines are straight ahead. after a incredible period in

january, a thaw? not going to happen. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, in a season where many expected the san antonio spurs to slip from the ranks ed

narg nba elite they're proving they're as good as ever. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. and for years, the spurs have played a slow, methodical brand of basketball that could put many fans to sleep. but if you happened to stay awake this season, you have seen one of the best starts in nba history. taking on the jazz, darren williams did his best to stop the spurs. scored a game high 39. but san antonio has too many weapons, if tim duncan doesn't beat you, ginobili will. spurs won, 112-105.they're a league best 39 of 7. couple weeks ago blake griffin now kevin durant has scored an nba best 47, did it in a win against the timer with wolves. fade away jumper in the final seconds of o.t., thunder won it, 118-117. college hoops, number 4 san diego state was perfect this season until they ran into ninth ranked byu. ferdsette put on a show against the aztecs. 43 points, the rest of the team only had 28. byu won 71-58.

providence has knocked off a ranked team for the second time in a week. this time it's villa nova. led by 7 at the half and never looked back. won easily 83-68. big upset at the australian open, rafael nadal hampered by a leg injury lost in the quarterfinals to david ferrer. the loss ends nadal's bid for a fourth straight grand slam title. president obama long-time bears fan visited wisconsin and was greeted by walker who presented him with a couple packer jerseys. one signed by charles woodson which read "see you at the white house." green bay beat chicago to advance to the super bowl. the president told reporters the governor was rubbing it in and needed a new plane to bring home the packer gear. that's an early look at sports on "early today." a husband roots for his ex's realty show to fail. plus, tears of sadness mixed with tears of joy.

at a one-of-a-kind meeting. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. a look at the folk for today. what a nice stretch of weather continuing in california, nevada and arizona. a little cool this morning. this afternoon with perfect sunshine, temperatures warming up into the 60s. coastal areas in southern california could get near 80 degrees today. l.a. all the way down to palm springs and down into san diego,

phoenix looks good, so does tucson. pacific northwest not bad, thursday and friday, doing okay. now some moisture during friday will try to sneak in here from british columbia towards seattle. portland we're going to keep you dry. temperatures continue mild but looks like this storm is barely going to clip the region up there and doesn't look to be too heavy anyways. watching us on khnl nbc 8 in hawaii, whether you're just starting out or already a hula dancing pro like lynn join in at the hula aloha at the community center, that's your pacific event of the day. nice of you to pose for that picture too. >> i was going to do a dance but knew i would end up on youtube. i decided not to. you're welcome, everyone. here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. can john travolta pull off the roll of teflon john. reports say he's negotiating to play the mob john gotti.

yesterday he met with producer's and the mob boss's son. producers are said to be after james franco to play junior. in other casting news, will ferrell has signed on to guest star in four episodes of nbc's "the office." as a branch manager from the corporate home office and leading to a lot of speculation that he may eventually replace steve ka rel. a spokesman for penelope cruz confirmed she and oscar nominee javier bardem are proud parents of a baby boy. former tennis great john mcenroe is rooting against an upcoming entry in the genre of trainrec reality tv. when it comes to "lost and found" starring father and daughter ryan and tatum o'neal trying to rebuild their estranged relationship count tatum's ex-husband. he told wendy williams, quote, don't watch it, don't encourage it, and says he hopes his kids won't take part in it. why exactly is john mcenroe on

"the wendy williams show." is that not the bigger question some. >> i didn't know there was a "wendy williams show." it's hilarious but a bizarre match. from kxas nbc 5 in dallas, texas, where won mom showed the gift of life could be given in more than one. she had seconds to decide if she would donate her son's heart to eric with her heavy heart, she decided to help a stranger out. eric repeatedly met renay to thank her and show her firsthand her decision not only saved his life, but also kept an entire family together for years to come. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today, on your nbc station.

even our furry friends need comfort food on chilly days. monkeys at a zoo in spain are eating hot piping soup. zoo keepers are feeding pitchers of clear concook shons because these premates are sensitive to the cold. these guys apparently didn't get the memo but they look cute doing it. one creation in romania might be the holy grail of ice sculptures. it's a church made entirely of ice. it took more than two weeks to build and features elaborate carvings, a crucifix and pews. this is not just for decorations. local priests are offering visitors have an opportunity to attend unique services at least

until it melts away. are you worried snow might slow down your morning commute? here's one way to speed it up. a man in russia combined a lawn mower engine, a para glider and cross-country skis to propel his latest invention. the device weighs 33 pounds so it's a pretty good workout, plus in some parts of the country this may be the only way to get home, like here, and outside your apartment. >> i'm going to say we don't do any more ice, snow, polar bunch stories. i want stories out of miami, hawaii, like beach sculptures. >> i will tell everyone. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. the financial crisis inquiry commission will release its report on the causes of the financial crisis. the commission interviewed more than 700 people in its investigation into what's behind the meltdown. the kennedy space center will observe nasa's day of remembrance. it honors members of nasa who

have lost their lives furthering the cause of space exploration including the crews of apollo 1, "challenger" and "columbia." and tribute is paid for actress julian moore. as the hasty pudding woman of the year. the hasty pudding theatricals will hold a parade and roast in her honor. all day long 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. get all the details on the big snowstorm battering the northeast. and learn the trick retailers don't want you to know about about how they get you to spend more than you planned. 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