this morning on "early today," surveillance setback. an extension of the controversial patriot act fails in the republican-led house. and sudden impact. things go horribly wrong for an elderly man driving on the wrong side of an interstate. cheating death. security video captures terrifying moments for a group of bus passengers in turkey. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers acrossle nation, including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry.

today we begin with a house divided. 26 house republicans sided with democrats in a surprising rejection of proposed extensions of the nation's anti-terrorism patriot act. dealing the house-led g.o.p. an unexpected blow from within its own ranks. tracie potts joins us from washington with more on that. tracy, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. there are three key provisions of the patriot act set to expire at the end of this month. one allows for multiple phone wiretaps by the government. another one often referred to as the library provision allows the fbi to search library records in a terror investigation. and also, it allows for the secret surveillance of non-u.s. citizens who have been linked to terrorist groups. the house tried to extend the three provisions but fell seven votes short. apparently because of a slip-up by the republican majority by

the leadership. they fast-tracked this legislation, which meant they needed a two-thirds majority to pass it. but 26 republicans, including tea party members, sided with democrats against it. supporters say it's key to prevent a terror attack, but those against it say is in a huge government intervention. if the house and the senate don't agree by the end of the month, those provisions will expire. lynn? >> tracie potts in washington, thank you. for residents in the nation's midsection, already exhausted by this winter season, brace yourselves. another snow-packed storm is on the way. for more on that, we go to nbc's jay gray in oklahoma city for us. jay, good morning.ç brutal already. >> reporter: yeah, good morning, lynn. really vicious conditions here this morning in oklahoma city. the temperature, 7 degrees. the wind chill, 50 to 20 below. you can see this blowing snow, which will continue for several hours here. they expect 8 to 10 inches here in oklahoma city. more than a foot in the northern

half of the state. this comes on the heels of blizzard conditions last week across the southern plains. kansas getting pounded yesterday. today it's oklahoma. texas and arkansas will also be affected. underneath this snow is a thin layer of ice, which is making things very slick. of course, businesses have been closed for more than a week now. school has been out in the oklahoma area for seven days. that's a record. things will warm up by the end of the debut the 20s, perhaps the 30s, but. , that's still 25 to 30 degrees below normal here. lynn, back to you. >> all right, jay. stay warm. get back in the truck. thank you for that report. >> thanks. first, after a weekend lull, and 16 days into egypt's political crisis, passionate crowds have returned to cairo's main square with anti-government protesters staging one of their biggest demonstrations yet. helping to ignite hundreds of thousands yesterday was a young google executive who claims to have helped spark the uprising.

he made his first appearance in the main square after being released from 12 days in secret detention. meanwhile, after making weekend concessions, the country's newly appointed vice president, omar suleiman, appeared to harden, rejecting any early departure by president hosni mubarak and only annualsly warned protesters "there must be an end to this crisis as soon as possible." now here's a look at other stories making news "early today" in america. in california dramatic cell phone footage of a truck driving the wrong way. the 83-year-old driver went ç against traffic on interstate 5 until he ran out of road, slamming into a guardrail. the impact nearly tore the vehicle completely in half. miraculously, the driver sustained no serious injuries. in new york, police are seeking the public's help to

catch a brazen gunman. suspect fired inside a store hitting a woman in her arm and back. she survived and is in stable condition. in texas, explosions and raging flames erupts from a petroleum plant. fireballs shot into the sky as firefighters fought that mammoth blaze. the intense fire shut down traffic on a nearby highway before the decision was made to let it burp out. the cause of that fire is still unknown. in mississippi, three people are dead after a tractor-trailer collided with two school buses. the accident occurred when the big rig sideswiped one of the buses and then hit the second head-on. the fatal crash claimed the lives of the truck driver, two teachers, and injured 17 students. finally, in florida on a much lighter note, officials at the palm beach zoo are working hard to hook up a couple of koala bears there. the zoo wants abby and oz to mate, so an intimate dinner has been arranged. how lovely. they also kept them separated for months, hoping absence will,

undeed, make the heart grow fonder. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's the weather channel forecast that's not so sweet, especially for folks in the midwest. >> now we're waking up this morning in arkansas, and the snow is starting to fly around fort smith and little rock. just the latest winter storm here. it's difficult to travel even around dallas as rain has turned over to a little coating of snow. now, this storm is really the only storm on the map, and once we're done with that storm, there's no others to come over the next couple of days. once we get rid of this mess, the rest of the country will be really good for any traveling or vacations or anything else. we're actually going to see a nice winter thaw in the days ahead. that gorgeous weather that will soon move across the country right now is over the west. clear as could be out there. huge ridge right over the pacific, and that's moving on shore, and it's going to keep you cool. pacific cool air. it's not the arctic air from canada. it's the pacific cool air. the mornings will be cool, and

the afternoons will be sunny and nice. look at this forecast. sunshine across the board. we'll see temperatures near 50 in the northwest and 50s, 60 bakersfield at 56 and çsunny. no complaints. a little cool this morning. bring the coat with you. carry it home. fresno, seam for you. a great wednesday. lynn, will thursday be as nice? is that possible? >> we can all dream of it here on the east coast. thanks so much. well, the toyota verdict is in, and i pad update is in the works, and the catholic church sakes an app to deal with your sins. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, she's in trouble again, and this time it's more serious than any legal problems she's had before. >> coming up, a record setting night for kevin love.

lebron turns up the heat, and a frosty celebration for the super bowl champs. you're watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of the your top headlines this morning. sill have i i don't berlusconi is accused of paying for sex with an underaged girl and improperly pressuring police to release the girl after a robbery arrest. the judge's decision is expected within a week. in iraq a tv camera captured a car bomb exploding in the city of kirkuk. it was the third in a series of blasts that rocked the oil-rich city. at least seven people were killed, and 80 wounded. to turkey now where dramatic footage shows the inside of a

bus when terrifying moments unfolded as the packed vehicle collided with a truck. 18 people were hurt in the crash, but judging by the severe impact, officials say it is incredible no one was killed. fist lady michelle obama confirms the president has given up his decades long smoking habit saying it's benoit almost a year since he lit up." later this morning mrs. obama will be on "the today show" marking the first anniversary of her campaign to end childhood obesity. and a new poll weighs in on what super power americans would most love to have. topping the list with 28% each are time travel and mind reading. flying came in third, followed by the aeblt to teleport and be invisible. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,233 after gaining 71 points yesterday. the s&p inched up 5 points. nasdaq added 13. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo,

the nikkei shed 18 points while in hong kong the hang seng tumbled 320. toyota officials are breathing a sigh of relief after a ten-month federal investigation concluded that faulty electronics did not causç toyota vehicles to accelerate out of control. a federal probe confirmed toyota's own findings for which it's already recalled 8 million toyota and lexus cars fixing sticky gas pedals and improperly fitted floor mats blamed for unintended acceleration. toyota shares were up this morning in overseas trading. on wall street, the dow notched its seven straight gains tuesday, its longest winning streak since july. china's not so surprising interest rate hike to keep inflation in check had little impact on stocks. traders shrugged off the latest data from the labor department showing employers posted fewer jobs for the second month in december. mcdonald's led the dow's gains rising 3% thanks to better than expected sales last month.

avon shares lost 3% after the cosmetics company reported a troubling drop in profits. disney shares rose after the a rise in visits to its theme parks and healthy ad sales at its tv network. sara lee expects to see higher prices in desserts and coffees. the company blamed the rising price of ingredients for lackluster quarterly earnings. "the wall street journal" reports an updated apple ipad is already in the works. the new and improved tablet is reportedly thinner, faster and equipped with a front facing built in camera. finally, are you a tech savvy catholic, overwhelmed by the whole confession process? there's an app for that. confession, a vatican approved step by step guide offers a so-called personalized examination of conscience for each user. but the church encourages you to still go for a face-to-face confession. coming up, another love double-double.

the grizzlies go extra and titletown celebrates. plus, right now, lebron james is so hot even his teammates need to stay out of his way. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. a winter storm continues to affect oklahoma and texas and cold air dominates the map. your wednesday forecast is coming up.ç you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, this year the miami heat has played in phases. currently, lebron james and his teammates are smoking. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. back in november, the indiana pacers upset the heat in miami and last night, they were minutes away from doing it again. but lebron james and company weren't having it. we go to south beach. funny moment in the first, dwyane wade broke to the basket. the shot was blocked, but lebron was there to throw it down. the ball went through the hoop and drilled wade in the face. he was all right. just a little stunned. lebron hit wade and just about every shot he took. 26 at the half. heat trailed by three. pacers increased their lead in the third. the 7-footer roy hibbert running the floor like a point guard. up by 14, simply not enough. late in the fourth, lebron with jumper, he finished with 41. the heat rally to win 117-112.

out to orlando where superman took flight. dwight howard with an alley-oop against the clippers. 22 points and 20 boards. magic pulled away in the fourth quarter. gilbert arenas sliced through the defense and got the lay-up to fall. like the heat, magic are streaking too, they've won nine in a row. 101-85. kevin love set a new team record with a 38th consecutive double-double. 20 and 14 against the rockets. also a pretty good shooter from the outside. nails the three late in the fourth to sale it. minnesota won it, 112-108. grizzlies and thunder, tied game, final seconds. russell westbrook missed the three. james harden got the rebound, but couldn't hit the lay-up. we were headed to o.t. zach randolph scored four of his 31 in the final frame. grizzlies silence the thunder. finally, lambeau field windchill temperatures below zero to celebrate the packers super bowl win. lucky fans in the first row were able to get up close and personal to the players and the lombardi trophy. the celebration capped off a party that's been going on since

sunday night in green bay. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. couples busting up and kim ç kardashian gets kicked off stage. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, the black hawk helicopter is a powerful fighting machine. we'll tell you how one got taken over temporarily by kids. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. a cool start. a beautiful day. leave the umbrellas at home and bring the sun zass almost everywhere in the west. from idaho northward to washington state, through oregon, down through california, nevada. sunshine temperatures will be typical for this time of year in your area. then as we head to thursday, we continue the great weather trend. you look at 54 in medford. 49 in seattle. sacramento is looking good through the end of the week. if you are watching us in honolulu, hawaii, learn about hawaii's volcanos and see an xwigt demonstration of rock and cinder being melted to create lava at meet me at the hotspot at the bishop museuming, and that's your pacific event of the day, lynn. >> bill, thank you. here's an early look at this morning's headlines in

entertainment. later today, l.a. prosecutors will charge lindsay lohan with felony grand theft. lohan stands accused of stealing a $2,500 necklace from a jewelry store last month. the most serious count against her after years of trouble with the law. last weekend, her lawyer denied the allegations, promising a fight. lohan remains on probation in another case and that judge threatened to jail her if she ran into trouble again. elsewhere, "people" reports jude law and sienna miller have broken up yet again. this time, however, a friend says it's for good. we should see. olivia wilds separated from the her husband of eight years, an italian prince who she married at 19 in an abandoned school bus in virginia. kim kardashian may be the ultimate exhibitionist, except with prince at new york's madison square garden. prince invited her to dance on stage, but quickly made her leave for lack of enthusiastic movement. she basically didn't move. finally, manner league baseball's brooklyn cyclones have offered christina aguilera a national anthem do-over before

a home game this summer. representing brooklyn. >> she's welcome to come to marlboro any time she wants. maybe we'll skip the anthem and do her own songs. >> give the girl a break. this comes to us from khnl hawaii news now in honolulu where an emergency chopper landing gave some students the thrill of a lifetime. a black hawk helicopter was forced to land near an elementary school after a warning light came on. well, the pilot turned their scary moment into an exciting one for the school kids who got a peek inside and hands-on experience. after an inspection, the crew was given the green light to fly leaving behind unforgettable memories for the kids. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

here is one way to add a splash of color to your wardrobe this season. thousands of people gathered in india to take part in the festival of color which celebrates the welcoming of spring and signifies the triumph of good over evil. revelers dance, sing and throw colored powder and water drenching each other in every shade of the rainbow. outdoor enthusiasts in china are making the best of a ç freezing situation. dozens of climbers attempted to scale up a waterfall that's been frozen solid in a race to make it to the top. the country has seen a recent interest in adventure sport which is perfect in an area covered with mountains. up until recently, many of them went unexplored. if that wasn't cold enough

for you, this ought to do it. for three days, men in japan are doused with freezing water every hour except midnight. temperatures dipped below 20 degrees as they withstood the elements, hoping to prove their stamina. the tradition which has existed nearly two centuries is said to cleanse the mind and body and provide for a good harvest. >> all right, lynn. here is the question. would you join them if you completed the task you could sleep in for one whole week. >> wow. that is extremely tempting. how long do i have to be doused? >> well, they said three days. but if you just put the diaper on itself, i'll give you a pass. >> done. it's a deal. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. an asteroid about the size of a car will pass relatively close by earth, within about 64,000 miles. the space rocket is the second in five days to fly near but poses no threat of hitting our planet. in new york, former president bill clinton and actress elizabeth taylor will be

among those honored at a gala hosted by amfar, a nonprofit foundation for aids research. the united nations estimates that there are now 33 million people living with hiv aids worldwide. and happy birthday to singer song writer carol king. today she turns 69. 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 "today" exclusive. first lady michelle obama sits down for her first ever live morning show interview. and academy award winning actorç geoffrey rush talks about his oscar-nominated role in "the king's speech." 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