this morning on "early today," cheese head celebration. the green bay packers clinch their first super bowl victory in 14 years. turning point. calm returns to the streets of cairo as opposition groups win sweeping concessions from the embattled egyptian government. and rise and shine. a fast a spacecraft sends back the first ever 360-degree images of the sun. captions paid for by nbc-universal television a very good morning to you.

i'm ver observa -- veronica de la cruz. the streets of egypt's capital have been relatively calm as the country's vice president reaches out to opposition groups attempting to bring an end to the recent anti-government upheaval that has rocked the nation. but before we get to that we start this morning with news here at home. green bay, wisconsin celebrating this morning cheering the packers victory over the steelers. here's fred roggin with more. >> morning. the vince lombardi trophy is heading back to green bay, the packers led from start to finish to win super bowl xlv. let's go to dallas. packer quarterback aaron rodgers had an mvp performance. threw three touchdown passes, this to jennings in the fourth, gave green bay a 28-17 lead. the steelers battled, but could not get over the hump after falling behind early. green bay won its first super bowl in 14 years. 31-25. we'll have much more on the super bowl plus postgame reaction coming up later in sports. and now back to egypt. it appears progress is being made in restoring a sense of

normalcy there, following almost two weeks of unrest. nbc's brian mooar reports. >> reporter: in the streets of cry row, celebration and a sense of relative calm after the country's new vice president began a dialogue with opposition leaders. president obama is trying to turn up the heat on hosni mubarak without fanning the flames. >> the president wants change, he wants it immediately, he wants to be meaningful and he wants it to be orderly. >> reporter: former u.s. diplomats say it's difficult it know where egypt is headed because it's not clear who is in charge. >> it's like driving a car and you've got one foot on the brake and one foot on the accelerator and they're trying to get the right feet 37. >> reporter: although the unrest unfolded fast, resolution may drag on for months. here in the states, demonstrators are still speaking out in the way most egyptians can't. >> we're simply echoing the voices back home. >> reporter: and in egypt, there are signs life is returning to

normal, but plenty of reminders that change is inevitable brian mooar, nbc news, washington. julian assange has arrived in a london courtroom to find out whether he'll be sent back to sweden on allegations of sexual misconduct. assange has denied charges brought by two former volunteers. during the two day hearing, his defense team will launch an ç arsenal of arguments, among them that extradition could happened -- land him in guantanamo bay or even death row in the united states, hoping to show assange's extradition would lead to violation of his human rights. 18 month also after hiking along iran's border with iraq, the trial of three americans has finally begun. during a five-hour closed-door hearing yesterday all three entered not guilty pleas, despite the absence of sarah shroud. she was released back in september on compassionate grounds, but the trial still includes her in its prosecution. according to the group's lawyer, the judge presiding over the

secret proceedings has decided to hold at least one more session, although no date has been set for the trial to resume. and now here's look at other stories making news early today in america. in ohio, fireballs lit up the sky over arcadia. the blast occurred when a freight train derailed in a rural area causing eight cars loaded with ethanol to ignite and explode. in all, 28 cars were destroyed. no one was injured, but the epa is monitoring air quality. in minnesota, a man is using discarded christmas trees to transform his backyard in to his own personal forest. life in the burbs gets jeff down sometimes. too many people for his liking. he says there are just way too many of them, so he created what he calls his north woods oasis. a place he says is a cool spot where he can pretend that he is far away from suburban life. finally in georgia an atlanta woman is hoping to nail a meeting with oprah winfrey and

other celebrities by using what she calls her divine gift. jazz has grown her nails for more than 20 years and has no plans to cut them. her monthly salon visits take up to five hours. they cost her $250. wow. now a look at your weather, here's bill karins with the weather channel forecast. bill, there was a shot of her getting out of her car. how does she get through the day? i just don't -- how do you function? >> i -- different than mine. i don't get it. maybe she'll get on oprah. we'll see. hope you had a wonderful weekend. finally, no huge storms to talk about around the country. no big winter weather events. a weak system heading through arkansas. a storm system that's going to cause some problems in the middle of the country is now dropping down through montana bringing snow to the northern idaho area, and this is also dragging a cold front here through the west, and behind it some instability showers are already popping up there in washington state. enjoy the mild air while it

lasts. arizona, finally warmed up. we had just morning after morning of very cold temperatures. now we're finally getting on the right side of things. (qq!q polar air mass is finall exiting. so far as the rainshowers go, notice rainshowers down through i-5 and portland. in seattle mostly showers for you. the snows are back into montana. if you are traveling out on the interstate there east on 90, you will get into snow. especially at the higher elevations. as far as the temperatures go, as i mentioned, it's faebl warmer. that polar air is now back more or less towards albuquerque. phoenix at 48. we had a frogs or a freeze that was, like, four or five mornings in a row. temperatures are going to be kind of mild today, and california looking good. there's the cloudy and showery weather in the pacific northwest. that's a look at your monday forecast. no showers at

48. past to washington to mostly cloudy. 53. tuesday forecast coming right up. >> 75 degrees in l.a., bill. i mean, has l.a. ever heard of winter? >> it's been a good -- a very good, well, january into february. >> maybe we should introduce them. prices at the pump, the price of the huffington post, and the price of super bowl ad time. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, she's been a performer her entire life, but at last night's super bowl, she says she got lost in the moment and lost her place. you're watching "early today."

>> good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm veronica de la cruz. here are some of your top headlines this morning. in ohio, two men are facing aggravated murder charges for alledgedly killing one student

and wounding 11 others at a frat house party just north of youngstown state university campus. they were involved in a dispute at the party before they began firing outside the crowded house early yesterday. protests against berlusconi turned deadly over the weekend. prosecutors have accused ç berlusconi having relations with several suspected prostitutes and an underage night club dancer. he denies the allegations. officials in australia say wildfires in the western part of the country have destroyed more than 40 homes and forced about a dozen people to be hospitalized for smoke inhalation. fortunately, firefighters are close to containing the fires which have burned since late saturday.

and nasa has released the first ever image that shows the entire sun in a 360-degree view. according to researchers, the ability to see the whole sun will allow scientists to better understand complicated solar weather patterns and plan for future space missions. and now a look at one of your top health headlines. new york city officials confirm three new yorkers contracted cholera last month in the dominican republic. that nation shares the island with haiti where thousands have recently died from the disease. officials are testing to see if the strain is similar to the one in haiti. new york typically sees only one case a year and officials report all three people infested have recovered. for more information on this and other health stories, you can always head to the web and check out the health page online at msnbc.com. >> reporter: "early today" health is brought to you by vagisil screening kit. >> and now here's a look at how wall street will kick off the day.

the dow opens at 12,029 after gaining 29 friday. the s&p inched up 3 points. the nasdaq rose 15. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei added 48 points, but in hong in hong kong, the hang seng tumbled 355. sunshine may be in short supply this winter, but on wall street, optimistic investors are looking on the bright side. stocks at new multi year highs despite the jobs report. still, traders took the data in stride and chalked it up to one more casualty of the bad weather. this week we'll find out if the trend continues with earnings from coca-cola, disney and cisco. the fdic meets to a new set of rules that would try to curb bonuses at banks. that's what the agencyç calls inappropriate. there is big buzz this

morning about the huffington "post" being bought by aol in a deal worth $315 million. french drug maker sanofi aventis is still in talks to take over genzyme in what could be a $19 billion deal. federal officials say it should be business at usual at the nasdaq this morning after one its web based applications was hacked. and ford says it's ramping up production by 13% and that could mean more jobs as it adds a third shift to some factories. prices at the pump are the on the rise. the average price of regular is up $1.49 to $3.12. and, finally, more than 100 million viewers watched the big game last night. or at least they watched the commercials. so how much did 30 seconds of prime super bowl ad time go for?

well, this year a cool $3 million. the steelers rally fell short making green bay king of the football world once again. more coming up. your early morning sports headlines are just ahead. in your monday weather, cold air is moving in to the middle of the country just in time for another snowstorm. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, it promised to be quite a contest between two of the nfl's most storied franchises as last night's super bowl did not disappoint. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning again. so often with the super bowl, the commercials are better than the game itself. not this year. the super bowl lived up to the hype. coming out of dallas, 103,000 saw the packers get on the board first. aaron rodgers a perfectly thrown ball to jordy nelson and green bay was up 7-0. both teams are known for the defense and the packers "d" came up big. nick collins pulled in the interception and zigzagged his way 37 yards for the score. the packers led it 14-0. it was 21-3 when the steelers finally found the end zone. roethlisberger to hines ward hauled in the score. pittsburgh trailed 21-10 at the half and added to it in the third. mendenhall punched it in from

eight yards out. the steelers cut the lead with 21-17. but with momentum on pittsburgh's side, green bay's defense came up with another huge play. clay mathews forced a fumble, one of three turnovers, and the packers made them pay for every single one. rodgers to greg jennings. his second t.d. rodgers' third. and green bay was up 11. the steelers would not go away without a fight. roethlisberger floated one to mike wallace. they went for the two-point conversion and got it. pittsburgh trailed 28-25. but it was too little too late. down six, final minute, needing a first down to keep the drive alive, roethlisberger's pass fell incomplete. the lombardi trophy heading back to green bay as the packers won 31-25. >> it's named the lombardi trophy for a reason because we play and live in title town. we have the best fans, an organization that believes in us, gives us the opportunity to be successful, and i can't wait to go home and see those fans and bring that lombardi trophy. >> that's your early look at

sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. there was also a winner and loser at the box office this weekend. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, while the nation's eyes were glued on these big guys this weekend, another big guy made his debut but under more quiet circumstances. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. hope you had an enjoyable weekend. today is a split. we're watching a cold front dropping down from the north, keeping it kind of cool and unsettled in seattle to portland. all areas, actually washington and oregon state. south of medford, though, you should be sunny during the day today. san fran to sacramento, san jose looking good. phoenix good at 71, and now we're going to finally settle into a pretty nice weather pattern out here. a little cooler as that front clears. san francisco on tuesday. looks cooler. also l.a. the cold front is going to come through dry through california. if you are watching us on kgw in portland, oregon, watch polar bears swim in an arctic exhibit and learn about bears in the wild at be cool at the zoo, and that's your pacific event of the day. >> that was really cute. he is pretty cool. >> i want to go see him. >> no trouble being cool there. here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. super bowl weekend always at the

box office, but despite the usual dip, one thriller managed a respectable total taking the top spot with ease. the roommate featuring leyton and minka kelly. the 3-d under water cave adventure "sanctum" couldn't live up to modest expectations at just over $9ç million. finally, the super bowl is television's biggest stage, and there is a high price to pay if you goof. just ask christina aguilera, who mangled the pregame national anthem. ♪ so proudly we watched as the twilight's last gleaming ♪ >> quickly secured on blogs and social network. she said later i can only hope that everyone could feel my love for this country and that the true spirit of the anthem still came through.

i think she kind of deleted an entire portion of the anthem. >> she combined some stuff. it wasn't her shining moment. she covered up pretty well. sthoo it was an ugly moment. this is from us from boston, massachusetts, where brand new parents think their son already has what it takes to make it to the nfl. the folks at holy family hospital call him big baby. and for good reason. after over four hours of labor, jonathan was born weighing 13 pounds standing 22 inches long. his shocking size didn't break any records, but his parents are hoping jonathan's future includes breaking a few tackles and a few super bowls -- and a future super bowl, rather, for the new england patriots. i'm veronica de la cruz and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day on your nbc station.

england's most exclusive carmaker paid tribute to its mascot yesterday in london. rolls-royce celebrated the 100th anniversary of its famous hood ornament. the spirit of ectasy, otherwise known as the flying lady who made her debut in 1911. to mark the occasion, 100 rolls-royces made their way lieu central london passing by notable landmarks including the house of the parliament and big ben. one snow festival in japan attracts giant crowds who come to see giant ice sculptures. visitors brave chilly temperatures to see more than 250 sculptures including cartoon characters, athletes and national landmarks. it took a month of hard work and 6,000 loads of snow.

as one of japan's largest tourist attractions, the week long event drew over 2 million visitors last year alone. wow. at one competition south of that snow festival, digging yourself a hole will make you a winner. thousands of competitors, mostly pros who dig holes for a living, turned out for a hole digging contest. sure, prizes are awarded for depth, but there are also winners for create sxift costume. this year's winner, a nearly 11 foot deep hole which earned its team about $1200 which, i don't know, you'd have to pay me a lot more than $1200 to dig a hole. >> i want all of those guys on my road crews near me. because near me, there's five people supervising one person digging. all right. well, time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. there will be a hearing for a one who admitted to kidnapping a baby from a new york hospital in 1987 and who prosecutors say raised that child on her own. it was only recently that the alleged kidnapping victim was

reunited with her biological parents. in washington, ari fleischer and dana perino will be among the former white house press secretaries taking part in a forum called live from the white house, making and shaping the news. and it is national black hiv/aids awareness day. according to government statistic, african-americans are the racial or ethnic group most affected by hiv. 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. an exclusive in-studio interview with a 76-year-old american woman who was trapped in her cairo apartment while protests in egypt raged. and a former high profile scientologist gives us an inside look at the secret of church. now keep it on this channel for continuing local news,

weather, sports and more. i'm veronica de la cruz. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a terrific monday.