always a good ride with you in the house. >> going to start off the new year together. good morning. breaking news. a person of interest in custody in a string of arson fires across los angeles. this after firefighters responded to a dozen new suspected cases overnight. we're live at the scene. manhunt. mt. rainier national park locked down right now as police search for a gunman who shot and killed a park ranger and mother of two. the suspected shooter an iraq war veteran who could be using survival skills learned in the military to hide out in the park. closing arguments, the gop presidential presidents barnstorming the hawkeye stave on the eve of the iowa caucuses, and according to the latest

survey, 41% of likely voters are still undecided. this morning texas governor rick perry makes his case in a live interview today, monday, january 2nd, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television welcome to "today." it's 7:00 a.m. on the west coast on this monday morning. i'm natalie morales. >> happy new year. i'm peter alexander. matt and ann will be back tomorrow. i hope you had a nice holiday. know you had some family time. >> quiet, family time. what about you? >> the raucous before the caucus. reporters enjoying their holiday together. >> how much did they drink, exactly? >> they have a busy couple days ahead of a big race. >> they do. very interest right now. we have some serious news to get to to morning including that potential breakthrough in the investigation of those arson cases in los angeles.

since friday there have been more than 50 so-called fires of concern. overnight, police detained a person of interest for questioning. we'll get the very latest in a live report straight ahead. >> also, significant developments over the weekend in the search for maine toddler ayla reynolds. police believe foul play was involved here, and the case is being labelled ed led a crimina investigation. her father will speak out. it's the first time we'll hear from him. who could use a little extra cash? i think we all would benefit. but breaking news out of los angeles. a man being held for questioning in connection with dozens of suspicious car fires. nbc's mike taibbi is in north hollywood at the scene of one of those fires. mike, good morning. what's the latest? >> reporter: good morning, peter. how are you? yeah, police finally have something that feels like a solid lead as you characterized it before. they picked up a person of

interest, this near the scene of one of these fires, many, many fires that have happened over four nights. there have been 50 such incidents like the one just behind me, accelerant tossed at cars to set them ablaze and residents of nearby and adjacent buildings waking in fear. after a dozen more of these dark-of info dark-of-night fires, police detained a man near sunset boulevard they're calling a person of interest but not yet a suspect. [ sirens ] it's been a nerve-racking four nights. scott said it was hiss wife who woke him to tell him their neighbor's car was on fire. >> i got a hose and start putting it out. she called the police, and luckily it was just the car. >> reporter: and with no deaths or injuries to residents, it's taken a lot of luck. a burning car in a carport or garage poses real dangers in these dense residential neighborhoods. >> auto fires, as soon as they get going, they burn really hot, really fast. >> reporter: frustrated investigators have pored over hundreds of leads and witness statements.

they've brought in several individuals for questioning, but they can't yet say how many suspects there might be. >> they're looking at every option. it could be one. it could be many. >> reporter: the the lack of answers has the residents of the apparent target neighborhoods on alert and on edge. >> everybody's a little bit nervous. last night when i got home from work, almost all the carports were empty because nobody wants to park in the carports. >> shocked. shocked. it's an overwhelming feeling. and, you know, who expects to come outside and see their car on fire? >> reporter: local and federal agencies have combined to put together a reward offer of about $60,000. but now, as the lead to the story and the headline today, peter, they now have someone in custody that they're talking to, continuing to consider a person of interest but not yet characterizing as a or the suspect. peter? >> mike, want to get a sense, first of all, if there have been any injuries so far. also, how police first learned about this person of interest, when they fist learned about him. >> reporter: yeah. they learned about him actually

a couple days ago because there was some surveillance video outside an underground garage that had this guy on camera, a guy who had a ponytail, between 20 and 30 years old, described also by witnesses, and so they put out that video last night. and then at about 4:00 this morning l.a. time they actually apprehended this guy, brought this guy in for questioning, and they continue to question him now. as to injuries, peter, amazingly there have been no deaths and no reported injuries from any of these incidents 50shgs-plus incidents. i mean, look at this. the house behind me was on fire itself after the car fire started. so far except for one firefighter who had a fall, no reported injuries and no deaths. amazing. >> big relief that police appear to be making progress in this case. mike, thanks very much. 7:05 pacific time. now here's natalie. >> peter, thank you. we're following overnight developments tied to a desperate search under way for a gunman believed to be on the loose inside mt. rainier national park. this after a park ranger and mother of two were shot and killed on sunday.

king 5 has more on the story. >> we do have somebody in the woods armed we believe with multiple weapons including assault-type weapons. >> reporter: officers from the fbi and local park services locked down mt. rainier national park and turned away visitors in a desperate search for benjamin colton barnes. with possible military experience and survivalist skills, barnes is believed to have shot park ranger margaret anderson when she stopped him at a roadblock. the mother of two young daughters, anderson, though wounded, was able to radio for help. >> deputies that were first there tried to get to her and were fired upon. they managed to get a small team together, get her out of the line of fire, medics checked her and unfortunately she was deceased. >> reporter: barnes is also suspected in a shooting earlier in the day at a house party that left four people wounded, two critical. still on the loose, police believe he has not left the scene. married to a fellow ranger who

was in another section of the park at the time of the shooting, anderson's family begins the new year with a terrible loss. >> that was king 5 reporting. and meanwhile, the park has e c evacuated campers and hikers, all necessary precautions being taken. >> natalie, thank you. to presidential politics and things are heating up in the gop race on the eve of the iowa caucuses. we're going to speak to republican hopeful rick perry in just a moment. but first, nbc's political director and chief white house correspondent, chuck todd, is in des moines with the chuck, good morning to you. >> good morning, peter. if iowa is a three-way race between mitt romney, rick santorum and ron paul, each face a key test going into tomorrow's caucuses. can rick santorum, does he have the infrastructure to take advantage of the late momentum and will enough democrats and independents show up to put ron paul over the top?

>> we pray your hand in protection behind senator santorum. >> reporter: the man of the moment, rick santorum making a late surge in the polls by striking a chord with social conservatives. >> the key of america are strong families and strong faith. >> reporter: with one day left until the iowa caucuses, republican candidates are blitzing the state, making their closing arguments. mitt romney leading in the latest iowa poll says his conservative credentials can easily stack up against santorums. >> i'll let people make their own assessment of our respective records. but i'm a conservative. >> reporter: romney has refrained from criticizing santorum but on sunday he offered this mild criticism. >> senator santorum has spent his career in the government and in washington. nothing wrong with that. but it's a very different background than i have. >> reporter: santorum makes a case for his own electability. >> who has the best chance to beat obama, rick santorum, he's

rock solid on values issues. >> reporter: in the new "des moines register" poll, romney is seen as the most electable candidate by a wide margin. on the other hand santorum beats romney handily when it comes to relating to ordinary iowans. >> i love these candidates who get the huge applause lines. i'm going to get rid of this one and this one and one other one. >> reporter: romney had a little fun at santorum's expense, reminding people of santorum's endorsement in 2008. >> he was nice to endorse me last time around. i appreciate that. >> reporter: santorum was asked about that on "meet the press." >> i made the best political judgment right or wrong -- >> reporter: meanwhile, michele bachmann, rick perry, and newt gingrich are trying to make up lost ground. ron paul is still trying to explain newsletters containing

racially charged statements sent out in his name in the 1980s and '90s. >> i was not the editor, i did not review them and that is an error on my part. >> newt gingrich who of course has seen the fastest rise and fall of any candidate perhaps in presidential campaign history spent yesterday complaining about mitt romney, said he was trying to buy the election and a reporter asked him do you feel swift boated, and he said i feel romney boated. texas governor rick perry has spent more on advertising in iowa than any other candidate. governor perry, good morning. nice to have you here. >> good morning, happy new year. >> as i mentioned you have a good ground campaign going on in iowa. you have spent more in ads there in iowa. but the "des moines register" poll this weekend showed you placed fifth, that is second to last there in the poll with just 12 -- 11%, rather, voting in your favor.

realistically, what do you think are your chances in iowa if you don't come out in the top three or four and moving your campaign forward? >> well, 41% of the folks in iowa haven't made their decision yet. that's one of the reasons we're in the midst of a major bus tour. we'll end up in perry, iowa, this evening with a great rally. i have i feel very confident we have a great ground game. over 1,500 precinct captains going to the caucuses for us, over 500 volunteers have descended upon iowa from 32 different states to share with the people of iowa about rick perry and our record of job creation and our executive governing experience for the last 11 years running the most successful state in the nation. and that's what americans are interested in. all of the white noise that comes out of these other campaigns about i'm going to do this x, y, or z. we've done it in texas and that's what people want to see happening in america and washington, d.c. >> you're counting on the undecided. given you've already spent so

much there in iowa, as i mentioned, over $4 million in ads, how do you expect then to stand out from this crowded pack? >> well, we got in the race late, so obviously introducing ourselves to the people of iowa was very important, but the fact is we do stand out. we're the only outsider, you got 63 years of collective congressional time in four of the candidates and then a wall street insider. people are looking for a real change in washington, d.c., to clean up the corruption and fraud that's gone on between congress and washington. rick santorum talked about being a fiscal conservative but voted eight times to raise the debt ceiling. he's raised it more than obama has. he's a serial earmarker and stood up as late as yesterday and said he was proud of all of the earmarks. that's the problem in washington, d.c. while they're scratching each other's back on these earmarks, they're fleecing americans, and people are tired of that.

>> rick santorum has become a target of yours as he's seen a surge in his campaign, but you specifically talked about, as you said there, that he targeted earmarks in the senate. on "meet the press" here's what senator santorum had to say in response, take a listen. >> i love the candidates who get the huge applause, i'm going to get rid of this one and this one, and one other one, and then -- one other one. and then, and then -- he's running the negative ads, not me. >> governor, the senator there somewhat responding saying you can't get rid of entire government agencies to shrink government. would you care to respond? >> yes, you can -- >> did he spoof you there because of your oops moment back in november? >> listen, you can get rid of entire agencies. he's part of the problem because you've got a culture there, a person who has been in washington, d.c., so long, who

doesn't understand what the american people want. why do we have a department of education? does rick santorum want washington to tell the people of iowa how to educate their children? i don't think so. i can promise you, there are a substantial number of agencies of government we could do away with and americans wouldn't miss them at all. >> governor rick perry, good luck to you and your campaign. i appreciate your time this morning. we'll be following up with you. >> godspeed. >> take care. it's now 7:14. with more here's peter. >> thank you, as we heard from the governor, the "des moines register" survey shows 41% of likely caucusgoers could be persuaded to change their minds before tuesday. savannah guthrie has made her way to iowa, standing by with some of the undecided voters. good morning to you. >> peter good morning to you. as you say there are a lot of undecided minds here in iowa. we have five of them here. i want to introduce our panel. first we have melissa brem, 21 years old from dubuque, we've

got alan franson from story city, iowa, wally brown, and ron langston from des moines. good morning to all of you. >> good morning. >> anybody change their minds since we last spoke to you? >> nope. >> no. >> you're truly undecided voters. i'll start with you. what are you waiting to hear? you've had 13 debates, the candidates have been here. what do you still need to know? >> they've all done a good job. one of the things that i've had my mind made up, i thought, and then i met someone tuesday, house speaker gingrich, and i thought i had made up my mind with he and romney, and now i've made some changes. >> what are the changes? >> i think the changes are that i've seen others come up the ladder. >> are you talking about santorum now? >> santorum, right? >> melissa, why? >> i feel like he connects with the american people and could understand what needs to be done

and take care of it. >> alan, who are you leaning towards. you call yourself social conservative? >> yes, ma'am, social and fiscal conservative. i like pieces of all of them. bachmann ripping out obama care, governor perry good on energy policy. i like pieces of all of them. >> a lot of you have said that, if we could slice and dice and come up with the perfect candidate. i'll ask you, cosette, what is more important to you? having a fiscal conservative or someone could beat obama? if you had to choose? >> it doesn't do any good to have a candidate if they can't win in the election. you've got to beat obama. >> ron are you happy with the field of choices here? >> my choice is huntsman but he didn't participate in the caucus so i'm probably leaning towards romney but i'm looking at competency and people who have the ability to execute and not just rhetoric, but who can

really execute and i know how it is to be in an administration and how to perform and what it takes to perform. that takes leadership. >> who is the most electable candidate? >> romney. >> romney. >> everyone agrees with that. why isn't he your guy? >> i think he will be mine -- i think i'm leaning in that direction. i think i like him because he's a businessman. i like him because in '07, when he took hold of the olympics, which was going down the tubes, and he turned it around. i like, i think he'll be good at foreign policy. >> do you have reservations about romney? >> romney, i just haven't been able to connect with him. there are so many things that i do like about him but i question whether he's a true fiscal conservative. >> melissa, you're nodding. >> yeah. >> fiscal conservative you worry about? >> um-hum. >> are you concerned about social issues? >> kind of. so much in the past he's flip

flopped too much and given in quite easily if someone didn't agree. i'm concerned about standing ground and taking care of it. i'm not sure he'll be able do that. >> you can't turn on a television set and not see the attack ads. what do you think of them? do they work, be honest? >> they're annoying. >> they're having an impact honestly. >> i don't like them. >> i don't like them at all. >> it makes it more difficult. the negative ads make it more difficult for the voter to actually sort through the details. >> quickly, when are you going to make up your minds? >> tomorrow. >> i'd ask you all to breakfast but i'm afraid we'd be there all day deciding what to order. good morning to you once again and peter back to you. >> thank you very much. >> a lot of minds still to be made up. >> absolutely. a lot of game-changing moments for sure. no doubt. let's get a check of the morning's top stories. tamron hall is covering the news desk for me. >> good morning, everyone. just days after it threatened to

put a stranglehold on oil shipments, iran is once again raising tensions with the west. it says it successfully test-fired long missiles to counter any attack by the u.s. or israel. on sunday, iran's navy reported testing an upgraded cruise missile. >> south korea's president said today he's open to the possibility of talks with north korea's new leader. however, he warned any provocation from the north will be sternly dealt with. former egyptian president hosni mubarak was wheeled into court on a stretcher to face charging in the killing of 800 protesters during an uprise that toppled the regime. on thursday, a cairo court acquitted five police officers of killing protesters raising concerns that mubarak could also go free. president obama and his family head home from their hawaiian vacation tonight. on new year's day, the president took his wife and daughter to visit the grave of his maternal grandfather.

they viewed a public exhibit about the anthropological work done by president obama's mother. power ball dreams will cost you more in this new year. tickets for the multi-state lottery will double to $2 apiece starting january 15th. the starting jackpot of the $20 million will also double to 40 million bucks. good luck to you. and talk about straddling the fence. two girls born in tampa, florida, were born in different years. little jenna behr arrived one minute before midnight on new year's eve giving her a 2011 birth date. her sister leah was born a few minutes later in 2012. both were three weeks early, so their parents are surprised by that, as well. how cute are they? born in different years. talk about real big sisters. it's 7:20. now back to natalie, peter, and stephanie. super cute. >> equally adorable and sibling rivalry, i'm the older one by a year. >> who saw the ball drop. >> exactly. >> thank you, tamron.

stephanie abrams is in for al covering the rose parade. >> yes, he is in l.a. a lot of snow around the great lakes. a big lake-effect snow event. for some of you, we could see two feet of snow. we need it. rochester we're two feet below average on snowfall and it will spread down through the appalachians. now here's a look at what's 7:21 now. take a look at this. showers on the radar. santa rosa, you picked up about .05 inches of rain. the showers will clear our air quality. so by noon is sun will come out. 65 in gilroy.

staying dry tomorrow. >> coming up. foul play mo d toddle maine. this morning the girl's father speaks out in his first live interview, but first this is "today" on nbc. first live interview, but first this is "today" on nbc. either i can't get to sleep, or i can't stay asleep.

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you bet. wow. man: do your simple return with the turbotax federal free edition, and now get our free, one-on-one, expert tax advice, live by phone or chat. get the federal free edition, at turbotax.com. good monday morning to you. i'm laura garcia-cannon. a man walking on interstate 80 is in the hospital after a car hit him. the man was reportedly walking shirtless on the driveway. the driver who hit him stopped and cooperated with a highway patrol. the man was knocked unconscious buzz he was breathing. in berkeley a wild ride for one driver who ran into a wells fargo bank. the car crashed into the corner of the building next to the atm. it happened around 1:00 this morning. police are continuing their

investigation. let's get a look at the forecast with christina loren. we have much needed rain. we're about 15 or 20 minutes out for light showers pushing on shore. 63 in san jose later on today. we'll see the sun come out by noon. 62 degrees in redwood city. it's going to feel like the first week of april, not the first week of january. 69 degrees. really nice inland. by thursday, a few showers move in. that will happen overnight. makes way to sun and clouds and comfortable conditions over the course of the weekend as well. so we're looking toll rd good weather for the first week of 2012. easy drive for the first commute day. it's a holiday for a lot of

folks. no metering lighting. we had an earlier stall on the upper deck that recently cleared. no slowing in either direction through the tunnel. we get a live look. the san mateo bridge. a little bit on the high-rise. there's a disabled vehicle reported in the eastbound direction. those headlight ls coming off of 101. no major slowing past the scene. and you can do that very quickly. to you. >> nor the latest traffic and news updates, check out nbc bay area on facebook. another local news update in half an hour. have a great morning.

♪ should old acquaintance be forgot ♪ 7:30 now on this monday morning, the 2nd day of january, 2012. >> 2012, let's move it forward. >> we have a big crowd enjoying their final days of a holiday break at rockefeller plaza. we thank everybody for being here today, inside studio 1a, i'm peter alexander along with natalie morales. matt and ann will be back tomorrow. an interesting look at the high cost of fine food. >> if you ever splurged on a pricey lobster dinner you may be surprised to know that meal may have cost someone his life.

coming up we're going to take to you a place where lobster diving is commonplace and having a devastating impact on the people who rely on it for money. >> speaking of spending money on food, a lot of people spend too much money on their holiday gifts. the bills are starting to arrive before people have even taken everything out of the plastic yet. you could probably use a little bit of side cash. coming up, five ways to earn quick money in 2012. >> we could all use those tips. after just 14 months of marriage, katy perry and russell branch are calling it quits. what was the split about? the mysterious disappearance of maine toddler ayla reynolds, the search is in its third week and police now believe foul play was involved. in just a moment we'll speak to ayla's father. adidi roy is in waterville, maine.

good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, peter. police have scoured this area searching local trails, woods and waterways and spent a considerable amount of time at her father's home where the little girl was last seen. they've turned this into a criminal investigation. they've looked long and hard, even offering a $30,000 reward for information leading them to ayla reynolds. still no sign of the little girl. the missing person case is a criminal investigation, in a statement released friday night, the waterville police department says "we believe that foul play has occurred in connection with ay ayla's disappearance. we base our conclusions as evidence gathered by investigators during the past two weeks." ayla was last seen by her father, josh dipietro. she had a soft cast on her arm

from what police called an accidental fall. dipietro hasn't been seen publicly since ayla disappeared but is cooperating with the investigation. in a statement he said "it's important the public hear it from me personally that i have no idea what happened to ayla and i'm not in hiding." >> this investigation has gone over for two weeks. law enforcement satisfied itself a 20-month-old little girl could not have wandered away in the middle of the night from her own volumition. >> reporter: her mother, trista reynolds has made repeated pleas. >> i love her, i miss her, i want her home. >> reporter: reynolds says ayla was in dipietro's care when she was in treatment for substance abuse. in an interview with matt last week, trista reynolds questioned dipietro's actions. >> he said he's not hiding, but

why won't he talk to me? >> reporter: and what happened to ayla, a question for the maine state police as they take the lead in what's turning out to be an increasingly mysterious case. >> every investigator involved in this case as far as they're concerned are still looking for a live, little 20-month-old girl. >> reporter: and late last night, trista reynolds issued the following statement exclusively to the "today" show, she says "when i found out from law enforcement that this has become a criminal investigation, i got chills up and down my spine, but i am keeping my faith. i am not giving up." we should add police are sifting through nearly 400 leads in the case. at this point they have not named any suspects. peter? >> aditi roy reporting, thank you. the father justin dipietro is with us exclusively. good morning. thank you for your time today. >> i thank you for having me. >> this is our first chance to speak to you publicly. can you give us a sense why

you're coming forward now? >> there's a few reasons why. initially the first few days i was emotionally incapable of coming out to do an interview, and i had been advised that by coming on and doing an interview, by law enforcement, it could possibly hinder the investigation, and i'm here to help in any way i can, and by coming on here is in hopes of reaching out to the person that does have my daughter and to let them know that what you're doing isn't right. you may think what you're doing is right for ayla, but it's not. you have no right. you're not her parent. she belongs home with her family. >> justin, as you heard in the piece, police believe foul play is involved. what are investigators telling you about what happened, what they believe may have happened

here? >> as far as i know, from -- that's just been a change in terminology. as far as i know, we're at the same place that we were at on day one with this. >> can you tell us about the last time that you saw your little daughter? i know it's now more than two weeks ago. she was wearing polka dot pajamas, the top said "daddy's little princess." tell us about that night. >> it was just a normal night, there was nothing -- i put her to bed and just been a normal night. >> a lot has been said about you, obviously, in the last couple weeks, before we had a chance to speak to you directly. what do you think people should know about you and about your relationship to your little girl? >> i can tell you what i'm not. i love my daughter. i'd never do anything to harm my daughter. she's the world to me. >> if we could ask you

specifically, ayla's mother, trista has been on the air with us twice, specifically questioned your parenting skills, even raised the question of an arm injury that your daughter has. she said she worried ayla wasn't safe in your care. your reaction to that? >> as far as i know, there was never any concerns. we had both agreed that me having her at this point in time was the best thing for her. >> trista had been in october in rehab for substance abuse. can you tell us specifically then about your daughter, tell us what makes your daughter so special? >> she's my daughter. she's my child. she's everything to me. >> mr. dipietro, justin, what do you hope happens now, what do you think will happen now and what are you doing to help try to find her at this point? >> i just want my daughter home. i'm doing anything possible that

i can, to get my daughter home. feels like a helpless situation at some points, but i'm doing what i can, it's part of the reason i'm coming on here today in hopes of reaching out to the person that does have her. >> our thoughts are with you and your entire family. we should note if you have any information, call maine state poli police, that's their phone number on the korean, 207-624-7076. again, ayla reynolds now missing for about two weeks. we want to get a check of the weather, stephanie abrams in for al. >> much cooler air coming into the northeast and south as well. a dip in the jet stream means the cold air could go as far south as the jet stream. it's mild here, 40s in the northeast, tomorrow it's going to be a solid

we're going to get a couple days near 70 degrees inland. we have rain showers on the radar. you can see from the live picture of sunol, it's cloudy, but clear conditions later on today once the front moves through. let me sow you where the showers are coming down noun between fremont and fairfield. you'll have deadty rainfall. it won't last long. by 10:00 to noon we'll see a good amount of clearing. the sun will come out. warming tomorrow. >> we have friends still celebrating, in times square, keeping it going. >> it was awesome. >> happy new year and for your new year forecast go to weather.com 24 hours a day. peter, party on. >> they slept through january 1st, just now waking up. stephanie, thanks very much. coming up, what would you do about your child's weight? could it be used as a weapon in a custody dispute? why courts are now seeing it happen more and more. up next, going to ex-streams for red gold. natalie explores the danger of

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shouldn't have made it rain. back now at 7:43. when you sit down for a lobster dinner you probably don't think much about where it came from. i recently traveled to honduras, where some men dive to the bottom of the ocean to spear their valuable catch, one lobster at a time and they're risking their lives every time they do it. every day, men dive into the pristine waters off the coast of honduras, hunting for lobsters that for the most part end up on american dinner plates, but often they come to the surface with something else, decompression illness, caused by constant diving with inadequate

equipment. how dangerous is what these lobster divers do? >> they are diving so far beyond any acceptable limits that it's not even on any chart anywhere. it's incredibly dangerous what they're doing. >> reporter: and it's leaving thousands of men on the mosquito coast permanently disabled. you called this economic genocide. those are very strong words. >> it is, they are, and the reason i say that is because there is an entire population dying because of lobstering. >> reporter: dr. elmer mahia runs the only clinic there that specializes in treating the divers. most of his patients are impoverished mosquito indians who live on the remote mosquito coast. we flew there with dr. mejia as our guide. this is the poorest part of honduras. the area is so underdeveloped that the only way to travel so many of the villages is by boat. we stopped at the home of

50-year-old alessio panting who became paralyzed diving 11 years ago. because he didn't have access to the health care he needed, his organs were shutting down. is this what happens to a lot of the divers who have been injured or paralyzed? >> well, he had treatment right away but even with that, the infection into the blood was very large. >> reporter: he died less than a week after our visit. how old are you? >> 21. >> reporter: 21 years old. but there is hope. this man couldn't walk when he arrived at the doctor's clinic. the treatment, the hyperbaric chamber, which has allowed many who would otherwise be paralyzed to leave on their own two feet. yesterday you couldn't walk. [ speaking in foreign language ] "i feel completely normal."

the honduran government wants to ban lobster diving by 2013 but the men can't and won't stop without other jobs. as for dr. majia he plans to continue helping the injured divers as long as they need him. you can see more on "rock center with brian williams" tonight at 10:00, 9:00 central on nbc. coming up, what led to the split, new details on the end of katy perry and russell brand's 14-month marriage, right after this.

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marriage after 14 months. stephanie gosk is in london with the details. >> good morning, peter. 2011 was a blowout year for katy perry's career. the first female singer to have five singles from the same album, launched her "california dreams" tour but professional success could not keep her personal life together and by the end of the year it crumbled. it was a whirlwind romance. they met at the mtv awards in 2009, engaged the same year, married the next. in 2011 it ended as quickly as it had begun. russell brand filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences. a year-end surprise for fans that believed in the couple's fairytale. >> these were two people who were very in love, very committed, for the time that they were together, and it unraveled very quickly.

>> reporter: rumors had been twirling for months that the marriage was off to a rocky start, despite brand's efforts to keep their lives private. >> the romantic element i keep private, between me and my lovely wife. >> reporter: in early november ellen degeneres asked them if they had split up. >> what! she should have told me. >> they never are in the same place at the same time. >> reporter: katy perry kicked off her "california dreams" tour. brand who starred in the remake of "arthur" had his own demanding shoot schedule. when they had a chance to take a break, they spent the holiday thousands of mild apart, brand back home in england with friends. perry took time off in hawaii, neither one was wearing their wedding ring. hollywood watchers spent the holidays speculating on what finally broke them apart. >> it's the age-old problem in

the world of celebrity, one is more successful than the other. russell did ride on katy's coattails when he hit hollywood. >> reporter: the two came from vastly different backgrounds, perry raised in california by strict evangelical christians, brand had a troubled childhood, raised in working class england by single parents. as a young adult he struggled with drugs, alcohol and sex but whatever the irreconcilable differences may have been the pair that thrilled their fans with a lightning fast fairytale romance have now become just the latest hollywood casualty. the celebrity gossip website tmz reports that brand filed the divorce papers because perry didn't want to overly upset her conservative parents. regardless, it must still be a very difficult time for everyone involved. peter? >> steph, thank you very much. hard to imagine that relationship working, where they're like never together. >> hard to start a marriage like

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good morning to you. it is 7:56 right now. hooim laura garcia-cannon. this morning investigators still trying to figure out the cause of a new year's day fire. they say it may have been set deliberately. the flames ripped through three homes causing at least one injury. the fire started after 8:00 last night between frederick and waller street. it quickly fred spr one house to two neighboring buildings. take a look at these pictures. three units in the main building burned. one person was treated for shortness of breath. i want to check the forecast with christina loren. >> good morning to you. we have good rainfall coming down over the east bay through oakland and livermore. even fremont.

light showers won't last long. the front will pass through and clear conditions by noon today. your highs will be comfortable down to the south bay. 63 in los gatos. by tomorrow high pressure is over the great basin. we'll see clear starts a @ coast with high pressure driving the marine layer back out to sea. breezy condition ls. we have another chance of rain in the forecast. by thursday, 67 degrees on friday. let's check your drive with mike. >> an easy drive through the south bay. look at the northbound speed sensors. no problem. nice e ze drive for 101 and 280. i have a cough. it's all right. >> basically it's clear. more clear on the roadways than the roads this morning. we'll get you get a break. live look outside 880 this morning. and for the latest traffic updates, check out nbc bay area on facebook.

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