this morning on "early today," evacuating egypt. americans rush to get out of the country following growing unrest. already winter-weary states bear down for the massive new storm. and south american fireball. a factory in venezuela is rocked by a series of deadly explosions. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with egypt in

crisis. with protests, defiance and violence showing no signs of letting up, the united states has put a plan in place to evacuate thousands of americans from the chaos and uncertainty gripping the country. nbc's tracie potts is live for us in washington with the latest. tracie, good morning. >> lynn, good morning. two of the three charter flights out of cairo to athens, greece, should have arrived by now, but at this hour we're told they have been delayed. meantime, here in washington, washington is in a bit of a tough spot trying to support our ally, promote democracy, but denounce the violence. >> reporter: response in the u.s. range from quiet vigils to loud protests. americans with family in egypt are concerned. >> my heart is broke for my country. >> reporter: this couple came home a day earlier. a tour company urged them to leave. >> reporter: are you disappointed your trip got cut short? >> not really.

i wanted to get out of the place. >> reporter: today the state department begins charter flights to turkey, greece, and cypress for the 52,000 plus americans there who need a way out. in washington, president obama and others have been on the phone with world leaders urging president hasni mubarak to respond peacefully. >> long-term stability rests on responding to the legitimate immediate of theç egyptian people. >> reporter: it's those needs, food and jobs, that caused thousands to spill into the streets. >> this is not a class warfare. this is a situation of 99% of the people who are fed up with the oppression that exists. >> i'm really excited. finally a change that the country has been calling for for god knows how many years. >> reporter: frustration in egypt and the u.s. and here in the u.s. one of the biggest frus rags is getting in touch with people in egypt. the country had frustrated

communications, cell phone service, internet service, trying to prevent the protesters from communicating, but it's also prevented people here from finding out if their families are safe. lynn. >> tracie potts there in washington. tracie, huh so much. back in the u.s. a massive storm is brewing. one so big it could impact up to 100 million people from colorado to the northeast. for more on that we go to nbc meteorologist bill karins. bill, good morning. not again. >> yeah, i know. this is amazing, lynn. we're going to see a storm this big after all the storms we've had this winter. already blizzard watches in effect for areas around chicago. winter storm warnings for kansas city and st. louis. travel is going to be very difficult tonight and into tuesday here in the middle of the country. anyone doing any air travel from chicago to st. louis, des moines, kansas city, there's a good chance your flights will probably just be canceled. even dallas where the super bowl preparations are underway will get some winter weather out of this. then the storm heads to the east coast, and we'll see amazing and hefty snowfall totals. as much as 12 to 18 inches for

chicago and detroit. lynn, just, you know, we got until about thursday or friday, and then the storm will be gone, and then hopefully we can catch our breath. >> hopefully february will be a little bit easier. thank you. we'll have much more on the weather with bill coming up shortly. first, secretary of state hulk hillary rodham clinton says despite disagreement over who should be eligible to run for haiti's next president, the united states has no plans to cut off aid to that nation. however, speaking during a brief visit to the earthquake-ravaged country yesterday, clinton did insist that the current president's chosen successor be dropped from the race. earlier this month citing widespread irregularities from tallies from the november vote willing, international observers made the same recommendations. the final round of voting is scheduled for late march. and in you here's a look at other stories making news "early today" in america. in oklahoma, a fast moving wildfire scorched over 300 acres of rural land just north of oklahoma city. the raging blaze fueled by dry and windy conditions destroyed

at least four buildings before firefighters were able to put it out. in pennsylvania, 33 skiers had to cancel their plan it is ç it hit the slopes when they became stranded on a ski left after it broke down. it took rescue crews a little over an hour to get everyone off. it was the second time this month the lift malfunctioned. the first time left 100 people stranded. and finally in maryland, 33 degree weather couldn't keep over 10,000 people from taking a dip in the chesapeake bay. the quick swim was part of the annual polar plunge. this year's event raised approximately $3 million for charity. worth a few seconds being cold. now for a look at your national and regional weather. here, again, is meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. good morning. >> i think i have decided that so many of these polar plunges it's more like the cabin fever thing. you are many your house. you're stuck. it's winter. snoo right, exactly. you can't beat it, join it.

>> exactly. well, that big storm we were just chatting about that's moving across the country, it moved through the west throughout this weekend, and temperatures really plunged when it went through. there's a big piece of energy that is now over the top of arizona, memorial normal. that's what's responsible for all our winter woes many the middle of the country and the eastern portion of the nation in the days ahead. but for the west coast that storm is already gone. it's just cooler than it's been. what a streak we had, though. it was fantastic weather for the last three weeks, and now it's not bad. it's just more winter-like. temperature about 52 in vegas. no complaints. 30 in medford. this is where the really cold air is. montana and northern idaho. some of that will escape into areas of eastern washington state around spokane and northern idaho. 44 in seattle. no complaints. 66 and sunny in l.a. a little cooler. it won't be as windy as yesterday. phoenix there at 63. that's a look at your mclear it.

sacramento, partly cloudy and 57. tuesday forecast coming up, lynn. >> all right, bill. thank you. also coming up, wall street in the wake of friday's sell-off. a multibillion dollar acquisition, and would you eat a burger grown in a lab? your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, anthony hopkins scores another notch in his box office belt. >> coming up, an all-star weekend in the nfl and nhl. one of the best buzzer beaters you will ever see. 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. michigan police say a man found with explosives outside one of the nation's largest mosques in suburban detroit is in jail facing felony charges.

63-year-old roger stockham is believed to have acted alone. he was arrested and arraigned last week on one count of making a terrorism threat and one count of possessing explosives with unlawful intent. nasa says the astronaut husband of congresswoman gabrielle giffords will decide by mid-february whether to fly the shuttle "endeavour" on a two-week mission to the international space station in april. mark kelly has been on leave to tend to his wife since the tucson shootings earlier this month. a florida mother accused of killing her teenaged son and daughter is scheduled to make her first court appearance today. according to an arrest affidavit, the 50-year-old told authorities she shot her children because she was fed up with them talking back and being, quote, nazi. officials in venezuela say at least one person was killed when a fire and a series of explosions tore through a military armies depot. so far there is no word on what caused the blast.

and chinese state tv is red faced after a recent news report on an air force training exercise. the interviews with chinese officers, dramatic footage showed one plane destroying another. only problem, viewers recognized the explosion from the 1986 movie top gun. >> and now here's a look at how wall street will kick off the day.ç the dow opens the 11,823 after diving 166 points on friday. the s&p tumbled 23 points. the nasdaq plummeted 68. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei fell 122 points but in hong kong, the hang seng dropped 169. to some wall street was due for a correction and friday was. others fear friday could be the start of a longer more painful slide. worries mideast unrest first in tunisia, how egypt, could spread to oil rich countries caused a

big selloff with investors heading in to bonds, gold and other safe assets. the vix index, wall street's fear gauge, rose 24%, its biggest daily jump since may. predictably crude futures skyrocketed jumping more than 4%. with egypt coming to a boil, many expect volatility to continue, but not necessarily all downward. some analysts predict wall street may even rebound by today's tend of trade to the plus side. this week over 100 s&p 500 companies report earnings led by heavy weights such as dow chemical and united parcel service. the january jobs report is due out friday. could a big deal help spur optimism? well, alpha natural resources is buying massey energy, the company rocked by last year's deadly mining accident, for $7 billion. elsewhere, add china central bank to a list of critics of the

quantitative easing program. saying it won't help imports, ease inflation, and pressures on emerging markets. and he's not a mad scientist, just a ph.d. in south carolina who wants to grow meat. he sees a day when football field size buildings will house bio engineering to produce cultured meat like pork or lamb likening to the chemical process for yogurt, wine or beer. but he's having trouble finding some funding as one associate put it, there is a yuck factor when people find out meat is grown in a lab. probably true. well, bubba takes lefty in golf. the red storm bests the blue devils on the court and who says there wasn't any football this weekend? plus the nba's nastiest rivalry plays out once good on the hard wood. your early morning sports headlines are just ahead. explosive winter storm will bring historic amounts of snow to the middle of the country. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, there isn't a more classic match-up in all of professional basketball than the lakers and the celtics. so yesterday, they were at it once again. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports

headlines. >> good monday morning. the last time the celts and lakers met, there wasn't this much on the line. kevin garnett took an elbow to the head. shaq had 41. lakers up four at the half, but the lead didn't last. pierce caught fire in the third. the celts pulled away in the fourth. rondo up to garnett. celts won it 109-96. off to the pro bowl. in the second, stood up we[ 3 c1 welker, stripped the ball and went 34 yards the other way for the score. that was about the only defense. nfc won easily 45-41. nhl all stars, the two captains picked their teams. the red wings nicklas lidstrom

picked a winner. a pretty spin and goal. a close one, 11-10. in golf bubba watson beat phil mickelson lost by a stroke. tiger woods finished 15 shots off the lead. djokovic beat andy murray in three straight sets. he took control after winning a 30 shot rally and never looked back. it's his second title down under. huge upset in college hoops. number three duke got more than they could handle from st. john's. the red storm cruised to a 93-78 win. duke's second loss of the season. finally, a great finish to show you between manhattan and marist. final seconds, jaspers down two. threw up a prayer, and it was answered. banked in a 60 footer to win at the buzzer. 60-59. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. >> narrator: "early today" sports is brought to you by touch of gray. get rid of some gray, never all. "the king's speech" gets a big bump at the box office and a

couple big bumps for its oscar hopes. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, a small town with some giant feline frustrations. you're watching "early today."

a look at your forecast. the west will take a little cool weather compared to the rest of

the country because nasty storm woes many the mesz middle of the country and east coast. beautiful. beautiful in los angeles, sunny. much cooler than last week, but at least it will be sunny. vegas, too. partly cloudy in the pacific northwest, and on tuesday more of the same. still on the cooler side just about everywhere, but at least the sunshine will be out as we head into february. if you are watching us on knv on nbc 24, new collections are vibrant art at the janet turner print museum. that's your pacific event of the day. >> bill, thanks so much. the debut of the anthony hopkins' spook "the rite" earned $15 million drawing a mostly older audience to beat out a wide field for number one. as expected last week's top film natalie portman's romantic

comedy "no strings attached" slipped to second with just under $14 million. surprising stamina from "the green hornet." it finished tied for third with $11.5 million. and the weekend's other debut, "the mechanic," also took in $11.5 million. and finally, "the king's speech" may have finished fifth, but you might argue it's the weekend's real winner. it not only got the famous nomination bump at the box office with a 41% jump in earnings, it won best picture equivalent as both the directors and screen actors guild awards. the last major ceremonies before the oscars, and some experts say they're a shoe-in for the oscars. >> i'm want buying it. >> what's your prediction? >> i'm not sure. it's just -- tends to be a surprise in years like this. it's the obvious choice. >> that's a good point. yeah. i was a little surprised that

"black swan" didn't take the golden globes, so i'm sort of out of it. i don't know what's going to happen. >> you never know. it could come back. "social network" could do it too. >> this comes to us from louisville, kentucky, where the residents of one nearby small town are having a hard time dealing with a catastrophic problem. over 200 cats have invaded taylorville. overrun by strays, it's making life difficult for the locals. louisville animal control is helping by rounding up the cats to spay and neuter them. and i guess could you say folks in taylorville hope that will put a pause to the paws. get it? i'm len berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

some fish are making a splash in shanghai. an aquarium is cashing in on rabbit fever ahead of the chinese new year. that falls on february 3rd. as the year of the rabbit approaches, a new exhibit showcases sea rabbits and rabbit fish named for their small mouths and shy nature like a bunny. but didn't be fooled by their cute name. they're it actually quite poisonous. one race in thailand, if you want to win, you'll need to take the title lying down. it's a bed race. teams race for almost a mile while one person remains in the bed. the competition raises over $2,000 for a local charity. awards go out to the fastest teams, the fanciest teams, and the slowest teams, but no resting allowed. world record hopefuls are

bound to face a few ups and downs. especially this couple. they're out to break the record for the world's largest yo-yo. it took 18 months to create. the 7,000 found, 12-foot wide toy and the crane which acts as a hand. the project still has a few splinters. but they say they're going to keep trying. the disappoint. a year and a half. >> i contacted guinness and i told that i think that i work with the biggest yo-yo. >> oh, really, bill is this really? did you have that in your back pocket to pull out? >> it took me all night to come up with that one. >> i bet. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. the government will unveil updated diet taker guidelines with a new and improved food pyramid. this year half of americans will be urged to drastically cut back on salt, reducing your daily intake to little more than half a teaspoon. early voting is set to begin in chicago's race for mayor. the bid commanded national

house chief of staff and leader in the polls rahm emanuel was disqualified over a residency dispute and then reinstated. and in los angeles, adam sandler will receive a star on the hollywood walk of fame. 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. a live report from cairo along with details on how the u.s. is handling the crisis in egypt. and justin bieber talks to matt lauer and surprises one lucky fan on the plaza. 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

i was told that i was at risk 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?