♪ this morning on "early today" -- stinging endorsement. mitt romney passed over by the biggest newspaper in the state where he was governor again. rescued at sea. four people are forced to jump ship when their cruiser catches fire off the australian coast. and a spectacular display. italy's mt. etna roars back to life for the first time this year. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello, very good morning to you. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone. i'm veronica de la cruz. today we begin with a big endorsement.

"the boston globe's" endorsement of jon huntsman is not only a big boost for the form every utah governor, it's a big snub to mitt romney. it's the second time the big newspaper has failed to endorse the former massachusetts governor. tracie potts joins us from washington with the details. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. good morning, everyone. that nub lets everyone known that south carolina is a big prize for votes, but new hampshire coming up first and romney taking heat for courting both states. huntsman slammed obama for making appointments without senate confirmation. >> chusing winners and losers, and particularly the people in

power will choose the people they want to give favor too. >> "the boston globe" endorsed jon huntsman, calling him best prepared. >> the people of new hampshire don't want a coronation. they want people to earn the vote. as opposed to sitting down tonight the people so certain of a victory. >> reporter: huntsman backers have doubled ads. but they challenged credentials. >> he's not a conservative. it's a joke. >> reporter: rick santorum, calling his eight-vote loss in iowa ia tie. he insists he's not backing away from religion in this campaign. >> we always need a jesus candidate. we need someone who believes in something more than themselves, some higher power, some god.

and not -- and not just the economy. >> no >> reporter: now, back here in washington, a citizens group is asking the justice department to investigate newt gingrich in the 1.5 plus million he got consulting for mortgage giant freddie mac. was there any lobbying involved? gingrich said repeatedly there was not. but the issue keeps coming up. veronica. >> tracie potts in washington. thank you. egyptian prosecutors are calling for the execution of hosni mubarak by hanging. the 83-year-old mubarak who's been brought to court each day in a hospital gurney, is accused of ordering security forces to fire on protesters, killing 800 people. one prosecutor said, quote, retribution is the solution. but even if mubarak does receive the death penalty,there could be months of appeals and it's thought the egyptian army would likely intervene. defense attorneys for mubarak and ten others will make their case next week. there are new and disturbing

allegations of sexual assault among cadets at the air force academy in colorado. three cadets are accused going back to the spring of 2010. in some cases the alleged victims were fellow cadets. one of the suspects who runs the academy's honor system was charged with forcible rape after a pentagon report last week found a spike in assaults at all service academies and a 20% jump in the number of cadets who say they were sexually assaulted at the air force academy. now, here's a look at some other stories making news "early today" in america. massive waves turned hawaii's coast into dangerous territory. spectators flocked to oahu's north shore to witness the power of the ocean and the thrill seekers who dared to surf the treacherous waters. a florida woman believes she has a record-breaking collection of shoes in her closet. check that out. the retired teacher recently showed off her 733 pairs of converse all-stars at a nearby school. 300 more than the current record.

once her tally is authenticated, the 63-year-old will go into the guinness world record book. recent dipping mercury in florida nearly killed thousands of butterflies. the cold weather forced employees at the largest butterfly house in the country to move 10,000 indoors. the staff returned them to their outdoor habitat after the area warmed up. and finally, a new mexico family found out their dog has some pretty expensive taste the hard way. the pooch ate mom's $4,500 wedding ring. there it is. when the dog failed to return the ring the natural way, a vet was called in extract the ring. and now all is well. look at him go. for a look at your national and regional weather here's meteorologist bill karins with your weather channel forecast. are you a dog owner? >> i used to be. taking a break for 15 years. >> you've dealt with that before. >> he ate a lot of things. golf ball is probably the worst

of it. yeah. so -- i used to hit golf balls with him. >> i just got a puppy. fingers crossed. >> he will get into something sooner or later. yesterday, one of the warmest days ever in january ever across the country. ridiculous. people in iowa were playing golf. this was iowa. 70 degrees in rapid city. 54 in fargo, north dakota. if you have seen the movie "fargo" you know what it should be like in winter. one of the warmest spots in the country, southern california. downtown l.a. 84 degrees or 82 in downtown l.a. phoenix, 77. salt lake city hit 50. mild up the coast, but more clouds to deal with. we aren't quite as warm as everybody else. and this morning, clear skies, clear temperatures over the rockies. another don't day. another big storm system rolling up to british columbia. that's where the storm systems have been this winter. a mild pattern through the

middle of the nation. all storms go to the north. keeps air locked up to the north. and mild pacific air across the country. today, not quite as warm as yesterday. 66 in vegas, a slight chance of ut by s in areas like portland. winter standards, not too bad. most areas will remain dry. weekend forecast looks to be dry and on the mild side. >> no cold air out there 74 degrees in los angeles. >> not a lot of chilly air. >> for people in l.a. that's like 20. >> that's being spoiled. jobs pick up, barnes & noble bummer and be careful paying

bills over the phone. and chris brown's interesting strategy for avoiding blowups when asked questions he doesn't like. coming up, miami's big three is now one. and the bruins catch fire in boston. you're watching "early today."

very good morning to you. welcome back to "early today." i'm veronica de la cruz. here are some of your top headlines this morning. at least ten people killed in central damascus, where a bliss bus was believed to be the target of a suicide bomb attack. authorities say the death toll could reach as many as 25. a dam burst in brazil has led to mass evacuations in rio de janeiro. heavy rains this week are blamed. dramatic rescue in the waters off australia. two fathers and their 11-year-old sons were saved

after their fishing boat caught fire off sydney. the boys had presence of mind to grab a cooler and hold on. staying afloat until help could arrive. 5,000 artifacts from the titanic are going up for auction, exactly 100 years after the ill fated maiden voyage. the collection is valued at $189 million. the new year brings the first eruption from mt. etna italy. lava started flowing yesterday morning. the volcano located above c cataynia, no risk to those living there. a lock at how wall street will kick off the day. dough opens at 12,415. nasdaq gained 21 and s & p up 3. nikkei dipped 98 points, and the hang seng fell 220.

and job fears he s helped bring comeback. weekly jobless claims dropped by 15,000. all that bodes well for the crucial december jobs report. in addition, december service sector growth was much higher than expected. that data offsets the early losses driven by worry over european bank shares, particularly unicredit, italy's largest bank, down 30%. and also the debt crisis, hungary forced to pay the unsustainable interest rate of 10% on 12-month debt. nevertheless, bank stocks led the drive up. advancing a third day, led by bank of america. techs made the nasdaq the leading index, ned by marve and cnet technologies. jp penny and gap were among the

s&p's worst. macy's rose strongly and barnes & noble tumbled after saying it may break off its nook. and bmw was top in luxury car sales. finally, a florida man, threatened with foreclosure by bank of america for being 80 cents short on his monthly mortgage payment after he hit the wrong numbers paying over the phone, finally got a human at the bank to listen to him. he won't be losing his home. and bill clinton likes hockey, the nba team got fired up after their coach got fired, plus two of the big three miami millionaires sit the game out, but the one who played was key. your early morning sports headlines, straight ahead. as we head into the weekend, everyone wondering when cold air will return. i'll have your answer. you're watching "early today."

very good morning to you. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." the miami heat are without two of their big stars last night but they still managed to come out on top. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning.

miami's big three was down to one last night against the hawks and one was just enough. let's go to atlanta. lebron james and dwyane wade out with nagging injuries. chris bosh stepped up in their absence. down three, ten seconds to play. ball to bosh and he knocked down the triple to force overtime. stayed tied for three overtime periods. then the heat finally pulled away. bosh had 33. miami won 116-109. the mavericks continue to struggle. things are bad when you let matt bonner score a game high 17. at one point the spurs led by 28. 93-71. hours after firing head coach paul westfall, the kings rallied to beat the bucks. they canned him because of his rocky relationship with demarcus cousins. last night 19 points, 15 boards. kings won it 103-100. college football, patriots' offensive coordinator bill o'brien will be the new head coach at penn state.

he'll stay with the pats through the nfl playoffs. the school expected to make the announcement tomorrow. stanley cup champs had a field day against the flames. bruins scored three in the first, four in the second, another pair in the third. if you're counting at home, that's nine. bruins douse the flames 9-0. blackhawks rally from three down in the third. patrick cain with the equalizer. flyers took the lead for good. van riemsdyk in front, his second of the game. flyers won it 5-4. finally, president bill clinton on hand to watch rangers and panthers. this went to overtime, gaborik, a cannon for the win. i guess that goalie could never be clinton's secretary of defense. the rangers won 3-2 in o.t. that's your early look at sports on "early today." have a great weekend. i'm fred roggin. >> announcer: "early today" sports is brought to you by touch of gray. get rid of some gray. never all. the actress with a big new

engagement ring and a performer who leaves behind blood. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, at 15 years old, he has seen heights most of us will never see. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this friday morning. planning your weekend, let me give you the forecast. starting today, no issues out there.

continue with very dry conditions, and we'll talk about drought conditions increasing in many areas of california. this pattern continues. some showers up in oregon. temperatures for the most part continue to be mild everywhere. saturday and sunday, 40s in the northwest. sunday, probably the warmest day of the next three for many years in the west. if you are watching on khnl in honolulu, hawaii, celebrate the chinese new year with delicious asian cuisine. i'll cover it live if you want me to. that's your pacific event of the day. >> i second that. i will join you. who doesn't want to be in honolulu right now? >> we'll fly coach to save the company money. no problem. >> why not? now here is an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. not much happening this weekend at the box office unless you're a horror fan or need to catch up on tom cruise. "mission impossible" should take top spot about around $17

million. r-rated fright flick "the devil inside" is the only wide debut. it should scare up $12 to $15 million for a sure top five finish. drew barrymore is sporting a ring, this time marrying an art consultant. that's very big. jonah hill is reportedly dating ally hoffman, dustin hoffman's daughter. tabloid says lady gaga left behind lots of blood in her bathtub. sources assure it was just stage blood left over from her show. and finally, chris brown has a solution for the anger that led him to throw a chair last year after walking out of an interview in which he was probed about his ex, rihanna. in 2012 chris brown will do no interviews. >> we will never hear from him in the next year. >> on blogs, they are saying they might get back together.

>> are you starting that rumor, not me. >> if that's the case, he will definitely be asked about it again. from greenwich, connecticut, one teen talked about his thrilling christmas vacation. 15-year-old jordan scaled historic heights when he reached the top of antarctica's tallest mountain on christmas eve. that climb made him the youngest person to reach the tallest point on every continent, the so-called seven summits. jordan shared his experience with connecticut students telling him while he's not done climbing, he may stop to finish high school first. oh, my goodness, impressive. this is "early today," your first stop of the day on your nbc station.

at one competition in japan, penmanship definitely counts. nearly 3,000 people celebrated the new year writing out wishes and resolutions in a calligraphy contest. though used thick horse hair brushes and ink made from charcoal, contestants had 24 minutes to finish. it is a long revered art form influenced from everything from zen to the samurai. in spain, the holiday season lasts right into the new year. madrid's annual three kings day parade attracted thousands of kids and parents. candy was tossed from brightly colored floats. in spain many consider the holiday more important than christmas and kids write letters to the three wise men asking for gifts.

and there is one competition in georgia where participants have been preparing all of their lives. the 2012 super grandmother and super grandfather pageant showcased the talent of two dozen brave souls over the age of 70. they sang, they danced, competing for gifts and a prize equal to about two months of their pension. the winners sang old, almost forgotten georgian folk songs. that's where i would get the gong, i can't carry a tune. >> have you number of years and decades until you can enter the competition. we'll get you a harmonica. >> thank you, bill. time for an early look at stories we'll follow right here on nbc. in peru, trial begins for joran van der sloot charged with the murder of a young woman in lima in 20 12. for nearly seven years he's been a prime suspect in natalee holloway's disappearance in aruba. in new york demonstrators will protest outside the home of mayor bloomberg. they're angry over the way reporters and photographers were

treated at occupy wall street. long the before the internet, fax machines, or tell phone, there was the telegraph. they successfully demonstrated the first telegraph to the world on this day back in 1838. all day long, you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. 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 video diary of casey anthony has surfaced on the web but who posted the viral video? analysis from savannah guthrie and star jones. as he prepares to host the upcoming golden globes, ricky is live in studio. revealing what to expect from this year's show. now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, sports, and much more. i'm veronica de la cruz. thank you for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a terrific weekend.

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