this morning on "early today," down to the wire. time is running out for newt gingrich in florida as new polls show mitt romney surging in the sunshine state. chain reaction. thick smoke on a florida freeway triggers a deadly pileup. and is there life out there? mysterious blue lights cause folks in utah to think twice. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. welcome to our viewers across the nation. today we begin with romney rocketing. with just over 24 hours to go

before the florida gop primary vote, the temperature and rhetoric between the top two contenders is rising. as are mitt romney's poll numbers. brian mooar joins us with the latest. >> reporter: good morning. mitt romney is up in the polls and getting u inting under the newt gingrich. with the florida primary a day away, newt gingrich is asking conservatives to keep his contest with mitt romney alive. >> i believe the republican party will not nominate a pro-abortion, pro-gun control, pro-tax increase moderate from massachusetts. >> reporter: the latest nbc news poll shows romney has take an 15-point lead in the state with 50 delegates on the line. and it is win or take all. ron paul isn't contesting florida. rick santorum has gone back to pennsylvania to tend to his ailing daughter. that makes florida a virtual two-man contest. >> 196 house republicans that voted to reprimand newt gingrich when he was speaker.

>> reporter: but romney has unleashed a harsh series of ads. he says that's not why gingrich is falling behind. >> he's looking for some kind of excuse, but i'm afraid the real reason he hasn't been successful, connecti iconnectin people of florida, is because of his message. >> reporter: in florida, a nomination fight that's gotten personal. rick santorum says his daughter has seen a miraculous recovery. he's heading back out on the campaign trail, but not to florida. >> brian, thank you. elsewhere, floridians are asking why an interstate highway was left open early sunday morning after horrific pileup. at least ten people were killed and 20 others injured after a series of crashes involving cars, trucks, and tractor trailers. a blinding mix of heavy fog and thick smoke from a nearby brush fire blew across i-75 south of

gainesville, reducing visibility and causing havoc in both north and southbound lanes. when rescuers arrived, they said they could only listen for screens and moans because the poor visibility made it difficult to find victims. elsewhere, occupy oakland protesters battled with police over the weekend in the most violent confrontation yet launched by the movement against inequali inequality. more than 400 were arrested during clashes in which demonstrators threw rocks and bottles and ransacked city hall. police responded with tear gas. at least three officers and one protester were injured. in new york, occupy wall street protesters marched in solidarity with occupy oakland. in washington, d.c., protesters faced a noon deadline from the national park service and could be arrested if they violate a new ban on camping. now here's a look at some other stories making news.

near dallas, a sheriff's deputy rescued two women who were trapped in a car sinking in a lake. video from his patrol car shows the deputy making his way into the water. he then smashed a window and saved the women, who say they got lost trying to find their way home. the deputy happened to be driving by when he saw the car's taillights. the sands of palm beach, florida, turned into a makeshift runway this morning after the pilot of a twin engine plane had to make an emergency landing. no one was hurt, but crews had to dismantle the plane and take it off the beach in pieces. in california, a woman didn't bother to ask how much that doggy in the window was. instead, she just stole the puppy from a pet store. now comes word the store won't press charges after the suspect sent the store $600 in cash and a notesh t oe'ooheffnd hinizk a she's off the hook ande' keepin the dog. even though it's been a mild winter for most of the country, the water can still be pretty cold. but that did not stop 14,000

people from diving into chesapeake bay this weekend in maryland. they took part in the national polar bear plunge raising $2.5 million for the special olympics. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. he has your weather channel forecast. good morning to you, bill. we see those polar plunges a lot. this is the g-rated version of it. not the brutal one. >> i like the one where they cut the ice off the lake. then they can go in. >> around the ice. >> so many things have been cancelled this year. a lot of winter events. polar bear plunges. kind of like the mild polar bear plunges. well, good morning, everyone. around the country, that's been the theme. the lack of snow, lack of winter, lack of cold. the cold spot, fairbanks, alaska. minus 39. they've been cancelling flights. this has been a brutal stretch.

they would love to send some of this cold air to the lower 48. hasn't happened much. today, fairbanks will be lucky to get another 20 degrees warmer. anchorage, still very cold. the reason why none of that cold air from alaska has made it anywhere else in the u.s. is the northerly jet stream has been coming onshore mostly in canada and british columbia. it hasn't been dipping down too much. now all the mild pacific air covers the lower 48. over the next seven days, there's no signs of any of that cold air coming down over the west. we have little pieces here and there. the heart of it is still way up there by the hudson bay. don't expect any big chill any time soon. we're going to continue with the mild pacific air, which will occasionally bring areas of rain into the pacific northwest. only snow at the very highest of elevations. that's what's happening out there this morning. that's a look at your national foreca little above average.

sacramento, 64 and partly cloudy. doesn't look like anything too dramatic for the west this week. >> all right, bill. thanks so much. coming up, a big week for earnings. a huge ipo on the horizon. and proof some guys will just do about anything not to miss the super bowl. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, he's the action star pushing 60 who just notched another number one film at the box office. super bowl week is upon us as football's best show up in hawaii. plus, history at the australian open, and perfection at x games. you're watching "early today."

good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. capping the bloodiest week in syria's uprising, at least 66 people were reportedly killed there yesterday. government troops have reportedly seized several towns this morning. search operations resumed off the coast of italy this morning where a capsized cruise ship ran aground. yesterday rough seas forced divers to stop looking for the 16 people who remain missing after the ship's position shifted by more than an inch. italian officials say it could take up to ten months to remove the ship. a team of international inspectors is in tehran trying to find out whether iran has a secret nuclear weapons program. tehran maintains its program is purely for civilian purposes. yesterday in response to u.s. and european sanctions, iran's oil minister says it will soon

stop selling oil to some countries. and just a month after the last u.s. troops left iraq, the state department is using surveillance drones to help guard american diplomats and personnel. according to this morning's "new york times," senior iraqi officials have expressed outrage at the program. and finally a wrecking ball is finishing the damage mother nature started in joplin, missouri. one of last spring's devastating tornados nearly destroyed the hospital last may. the building can't be imploded because there are old lead mines underneath. here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens 12,606 after dipping on friday. the s&p lost two points. the nasdaq was up 11. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo, the nikkei fell 48 points. the hang seng sank 341. this week, they finally bring the most anticipated ipo in a decade.

facebook may file for its initial public offering as early as wednesday with evaluation of 75 to $100 billion. another hectic earnings week with exxonmobil and almost one fifth of the s&p 500 companies posting quarterly results. we'll also get the latest earnings report from amazon.com. the leaders of the eu have a meeting today to sign off on a permanent rescue for the euro zone. the chinese debt should not be a problem for business, according to officials in beijing. bank of america is shaking up its leadership of its investment bank to put new executives in charge of its divisions. change may be coming to citigroup as chairman richard parsons considers stepping down with a decision expected by march. almost three months after the collapse of ms global, more than $1 billion in customer money is still missing, and may never be recovered. delta airlines as reportedly

hired advisors to look at possibility of joining amr, the parent company of american airlines. more than 70% of americans say now is a good time to buy a house. only 11% think it's a good time to sell a house. a new survey shows that it pays to work in technology with average silicone salaries at more than $400,000 a year. 15% of american adults, and we're guessing it's men, say they would miss the birth of their child for the super bowl. really, guys? come on. not cool. coming up, the nhl all stars on the ice. a long marathon on the tennis court in australia. and shaun white shakes off an injury for a big win. plus, the dolphins' brandon marshall stands out in hawaii. and it looks like the end of january will be just like the

rest of this winter. warm and dry. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports, the focus on professional football briefly shifted away from the upcoming super bowl yesterday to the

game's annual all-star contest in hawaii. here's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> hi, there. good morning. the super bowl is less than a week away, but yesterday football's best gathered in hawaii. play of the game in the third quarter. bengals andy dalton back to pass. deflected and ends up in the hands of brandon marshall. heck of a grab. marshall with the pro bowl record four tds. the afc wins it. of course, there's one more game to play. yesterday in new england, 25,000 patriot fans gave their team a super bowl sendoff. tom brady hopes a bigger celebration is on the horizon. >> we're going to give it our best and hopefully we have a lot more people at our party next weekend. thanks, guys. >> hours later, they arrived in indianapolis where they'll face the giants in super bowl xlvi on

sunday. nhl all-star game. alfredsson leading his team by example. nifty moves for the goal. ties the game at five. chara's team gets the last laugh. ensuring his team comes on top. team chara beats team alfredsson 10-9. novak djokovic and rafael nadal in a thriller. the spaniard is fired up. the fifth grand slam title took five hours and 53 minutes. the longest singles final in grand slam history. finally to aspen. capping off the x games with a perfect run on the super pipe. judges gave him a perfect 100. white takes home another gold. that's your early olook at

sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. coming up, folks in utah are the latest to wonder, are we not alone in the universe? plus, the latest awards and the latest hints ahead of the oscars. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on it monday morning. hope you had a wonderful weekend. weather-wise, we had the rain

move in last night throughout much of the pacific northwest. now it's moving to the spokane area and northern idaho. now, as far as seattle, portland, and coastal areas, a chance for showers the next few days. we're not looking at any huge rain systems. dry down into arizona the next two days. if you're watching on knt kntv nbc-11, in san francisco, see exotic animals at rain forests of the world. that's at california academy of sciences. that's your pacific event of the day. he's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. three is a term for liam neeson. "the grey" took in over $20 million this weekend, way above expectations. it joins recent neeson thrillers as number one debuts. "one for the money" with katherine heigl opened in line with expectations, finishing with almost $12 million in third

place behind last week's champ, "underworld: awakening." the weekend's other new film, "man on a ledge," opened weakly with just over $8 million but did manage fifth place. elsewhere, last night "the help" got a big boost for its oscar hopes. at screen actors guild awards, in addition to winning best cast, viola davis won for best actress while octavia spencer won top supporting actress. jean dujardin won best actor for the silent movie "the artist." this historically means it's almost a sure oscar win for that category. how about that? >> for director. for best picture, it's going to be interesting. >> between "the help" and -- >> yeah. >> i have not seen "the artist." the silent film thing. i'll report back. this comes to us from ksl 5 news in salt lake city, utah,

where a mystery in the night sky had some folks a little rattled. you see, a man recorded video of strange blue lights hovering slowly in the atmosphere. some thought it was a ufo, while others theorized it was a small remote control plane or a paraglider, maybe. >> what was it? >> turns out, bill, it was all the work of a local artist who filled a garbage bag with helium and attached l.e.d. lights to a wire frame. >> i had my suitcase ready to go. >> you were ready to be beamed up, scotty. a little too much time on your hands. it ends up on national tv. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

some bet vets in nick rarag are giving cats a second chance. these cats were rescued from traps set by local farmers. conservationists moved in to rescue them from near death. they will be hand fed until they're strong enough to be released into the wild. a colorful celebration took place in india in preparation of spring season. 40 days before the hindu spring festival of holy, people gathered a temple to mark the beginning of the jubilation. priests dusted worshippers with plumes of colored powder. holy encourages brotherhood in society and people of all faiths to join in celebration.

and finally, in thailand competitors hit the sheets, but definitely did not rest. hundreds turned out to see the fourth annual bed race on sunday. participants from all over the world turned their beds into decorative floats and raced them down the main street. the event raised about $.5 million, which will be donated to various charities. for folks like us and probably a lot of you at home that are awake, all you do when you see a bed is think, when am i sleeping next? am i going to be sulting to fall asleep during the race. it's time for a look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day. in washington, the senate is set to vote on the stop trading on congressional knowledge act, otherwise known as the stock act. it would ban trading by members of congress guided by non-public economic or political information. it would also require members to make full public disclosure of

all stock trades and other financial maneuvers within 30 days. the new york giants travel to indianapolis to prepare for super bowl xlvi. the new england patriots arrived yesterday, a week ahead of the big game. and actor gene hackman turns 82. all day long, stay on to of the latest developments on those stories and others as they break on msnbc. tonight, be sure to watch "nbc nightly news" with brian williams. in a "today" exclusive, the mother of missing toddler ayla reynolds. with the florida primary just one day away, a live interview with republican presidential candidate mitt romney. and 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.

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