this morning on "early today," decision day. republican presidential hopefuls prepare to do battle in three states while one enjoys a new surge in the polls. under siege. more deadly violence in syria as the u.s. shuts down its embassy and withdraws its staff. and runaway baby. tense moments in australia when a stroller rolls on to train tracks. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone.

i'm lynn berry. today, we begin with a santorum surge. despite back to back wins in florida and nevada, new poll numbers have gop front runner mitt romney suddenly taking rival rick santorum seriously ahead of primaries and caucuses today in colorado, missouri, and minnesota. brian mooar is in washington with the details on this. brian, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lynn. rick santorum is hoping to change the dynamics of this race in a single day and emerge this evening as the conservative choice. if this isn't judgment day for the santorum campaign, it is certainly close. he's running out of time and money. but he's hoping for a strong showing if not a win in minnesota and in missouri, where newt gingrich is not on the ballot and ron paul is hunting for other votes in the caucus states. santorum is hoping for a head to head contest with romney. romney is hoping for a good showing in colorado, hoping to show that he is, in fact, the front runner.

as far as gingrich and paul at this point, they are still trying to collect as many delegates as they can and drag out this nominating fight as long as they can. lynn. >> all right. brian mooar for us in washington. thanks so much. meanwhile t appears the economic conditions have bolstered president obama's numbers. a new washington post survey shows for the first time if the election were held now, president obama would beat mitt romney. obama's margin of victory widens against newt gingrich with 54% of those surveyed picking the president. well, president obama's campaign is now asking wealthy campaign donor to support super pacs that support his re-election. that's a reversal. while the president has raised the most direct money for the 2012 campaign, he's facing a

deep disadvantage in money raised by priorities usa action. that's the leading democratic superpac. as seen in this year's republican caucuses and primaries, the so-called super pacs can spend unlimited amounts of cash and have funded harshly negative ads while shielding the candidates from direct responsibility. overseas now where the u.s. and its allies are trying to turn up the diplomatic pressure on the syrian government. the u.s. has closed its embassy in damascus and england and france have recalled their ambassadors. the moves are aimed the forcing president assad to step down after a united nation's resolution was vetoed. activists say nearly 70 people were killed monday in homs. the u.n. says more than 5400 syrians have died in the uprising against president assad. and now here's a look at

some other stories making news early today in america. a worker was injured after a cherry picker toppled in philadelphia, landing right in the street. he was aboard the basket when it came down, breaking his femur. the crew was doing work on the rectory of a cathedral when the crane crashes. no one was hurt. in florida, it's one of the last times you'll see a space shuttle on the move. though the journey was slow and short. nasa released video of the shuttle atlantis being moved to another builder where it will be renovated and have parts removed as it prepares to go on permanent display at visitor's center beginning next year. and finally in the everglades, it's make snakes al. an explosion of burmese pythons has wildlife workers learning how to catch the snakes all by themselves without getting bit. no one knows how many pythons are slithering across florida,

but the experts say they're not leaving any time soon. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's todd santos. he has your weather channel forecast. good morning, todd. >> i'm glad you told me that story after i got back from southwest florida. >> that works out well. you survived. >> i did. yeah, no pythons. for many of us, at least across southwestern florida, getting showers by later today. gustyinds later today as well. there's a look at the system. at least o the wide picture, i wanted to note that system. it's kind of in the central portion of u.s., bringing some snow. although, it is starting to wind down through eastern colorado. some of that spreading in through western kansas. some of that may get towards d.c. by late tomorrow afternoon with less than an inch worth of snowfall. here across portions of the west, we're talking about that system that's going to be bringing heavy moisture towards the coast from ewe ree can towards santa barbara. the low itself is going to be dragging down along the

coastline. not everything you see on the radar today is going to get into the higher elevations. a little bit of snowfall going on right now, especially south of lake tahoe. we'll see some chances at 6 to 12 inches at some of the highest peaks. there's a look at colorado as some of that snow is headed out of the area. i should mention a few of these spots with decent numbers. the bulk of the activity will come down across the area today. there's a look at temperatures this morning. 54 in san francisco. a look at the region. let's check outle. for the most part, the activity is headed south. so for the most part, lynn, again, we're now starting to see some of that rain. it will be work its way into l.a. today. >> thanks so much, todd. also coming up, more greek

foot dragging. netflix flexes newfound strength, and time runs out on a celebrated squader. plus, frustrated post-game comments send this super model to the dog house with his teammates. eli manning visits mickey at magic kingdom and kobe finds yet another way to top shaq. you're watching "early today."

good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here's some of your top headlines this morning. iran is now facing tough new u.s. sanctions against its economy. the measures give american banks new power to freeze assets linked to the iranian government and will encourage israel to give sanctions more time before any potential military action against iran's nuclear program. the two rival palestinian factions announced monday they have agreed on an interim unity

government. in response, israel prime minister warned palestinian authority president he could have peace with israel or hamas but not both. the service's first woman four-star general has been nominated. the senate will have to confirm her nomination. just how cold was it in russia monday? temperatures fell to minus 5 degrees fahrenheit as snow and cold kept people indoors as much as possible. it did warm up to minus 54 degrees by the middle of the day. and surveillance video in australia shows a baby carriage rolling off the platform andn to the tracks at a train station. the mother jumped on to the tracks and rescued the baby unharmed before the next train arrived. unreal. well, now here's an early look at one of your top health

headlines on msnbc.com. a new study found that facebook can be tough on your mental health. adding friends can be good, but sometimes people use status updates to boast about their achievements. others compare themselves with friends and get depressed. researchers suggest being careful about your online social life, just as most people are about friends in the real world. for more information on this and other health stories, you can check out the health page at msnbc.com. and now here is an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,845 after losing 17 points yesterday. the s&p was down a fraction. the nasdaq lost three. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei fell 11 points while in hong kong the hang seng was down ten. stocks took a breather monday as debt talks dragged on in greece. protesters stood in the rain as

negotiations over a fresh cost-cutting package were postponed yesterday. german chancellor angela merkle and french president nicolas sarkozy insist cuts must be made before allowing another loan. overseas this morning, toyota reported a stronger than expected quarterly profit and raised its annual forecast. xstrata and glencore have agreed on a merger of equals at $90 million. boeing fell after one report with a problem on its 787 dreamliner. netflix was surprisingly higher despite news that red box will launch a rival video streaming service. humana dropped 5% after weaker than expected earnings. taco bell had another sluggish quarter. toy maker hasbro said rough

holiday sales hurt its quarterly revenue. diz me that weighs in with earnings later today. mcdonald's has apologized and pulled a radio ad that said eating its new chicken mcbites was less risky than petting a stray pit bull. and finally, after eight rent-free months in a foreclosed texas home, kenneth robinson's luck has run out. yesterday a judge ruled bank of america the legal owner. that was just a matter of time. coming up, the clippers win in overtime. the knicks finally come together. and take a guess who just went to disney world. plus, kobe bryant passes an old teammate and rival. your early morning sports

headlines are straight ahead. we'll also check in on where you can find snow and cooler temperatures into the second half of your week coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, big win by the vastly improved philadelphia 76ers

overshadowed a big milestone for kobe bryant last night. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> hi, there. good morning. kobe bryant leaped over shaquille o'neal on the all-time scoring list, but even that wasn't enough to knock off the sixers. kobe started the game just 24 points behind the big diesel, only fitting to reach the mark in his hometown of philadelphia. the black ma baa comes out firing. 14 points in the first quarter. in the second, kobe makes history. drains a jumper to move past shaq and into fifth place ones all-time scoring list. he finished. 28. however, lou williams spoils ko kobe's big night. the 76ers take the lead and beat the lakers 95-90. l.a.'s other team fared much better. this one goes to overtime. that's when cp3 ends the magic show. stops and pops for two. clippers rally to win in o.t.

the knicks were already without amar'e stoudemire last night. then they lost carmelo anthony. he left in the first quart we are a groin pull. he's day to day. so who would pick up the slack against the jazz? how about jeremy lynn? that's right, the second year player out of harvard had his first ever start. knicks win 99-88. the nation's still buzzing over the giants come-from-behind win in super bowl xlvi. while the team awaits a victory parade in new york city, eli manning had a parade of his own at the happiest place on earth. the super bowl mvp was hanging out with mickey mouse yesterday. eli was a grand marshall at a parade in disney world. and check out mickey. if the giants ever need another linebacker, he's ready to suit up. that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. well, jay-z in bright lights and randy travis in harsh light.

your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, how science and forensics have even invaded the seemingly innocent act of walking your dog. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." a few areas with beautiful conditions. salt lake city one of those. 44 degrees and sunshine. we'll see some showers building

towards los angeles. heavy at times. really, that stripe along the coastline. we could see upwards of three quarters of an inch. tomorrow, see sunshine return to the area. a few of the hills just outside of l.a. could get a quick snowfall. a quick 3 to 6 inches. if you're watching us on khnl nbc 8 in honolulu, hawaii, see the work of three artists who challenge the notion of traditional woodwork at craft masters. that is your pacific event of the day. >> all right. thanks so much. here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. last night in new york, jay-z added to his list of impressive career achievements. he performed on the famed stage of carnegie hall, just the second hip-hop act to perform there. the associated press reports chris brown will perform at this

year's grammys. that's the same event where his career almost ended three years ago when he assaulted then-girlfriend rihanna. e reports demi moore has joined brooke mueller at a rehab facility. add randy travis to the mug shot gallery. he apologized for his arrest after, quote, celebrating the super bowl. finally, giselle bundchen is in hot water for standing by her man. leaving the stadium sunday night, she loudly complained to a friend about dropped passes, saying, my husband can't throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time. well, brady's teammates reportedly feel mrs. tom broke the rules about not publicly criticizing fellow players and actually landed her on the front cover of the "new york post" with a big spread about how that's not so kosher in the world of football. >> that's because it's in new

york. she's defending her husband. i have nothing but love for the patriots. i'm a little bit biased. >> well, this comes to us from kdlt news in sioux falls, south dakota, where thanks to some high tech sleuthing, dog owners could be busted for not cleaning up after their pets. the owner of hundreds of local apartments will now require renters to submit doggy dna samples. if the waste matter is left anywhere behind in the complex, the landlord will send it to a lab. if there's a match, the owner will have to fork over $100. the owner says it's the only way to make sure the property is clean and safe. well, i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

lanterns and fire crackers lit up the skies and spirits in taiwan yesterday. thousands gathered for the annual lantern festival to celebrate the end of the lunar new year. traditional displays filled the streets. fire crackers accompanied the lanterns hoping to bring good luck in the coming year. well, what are they feeding their livestock in columbia? one chicken has laid what could be the world's largest egg. measuring 12 centimeters long and 7 centimeter round, it weighs in at over half a pound. that's four times the amount of a normal egg. the farm owner says he's never seen anything like it, and he's

going to submit the record to the guinness organization. probably a good idea. finally in australia, one furry friend played an impromptu game of catch me if you can with officials. the goat had police officers chasing her around the city yesterday as she dodged in and out of traffic. the hot pursuit lasted hours before authorities were able to capture her and take her to a local shelter. i have to say, the cops there have some serious speed. >> i was going to say i didn't realize goats were that fast. apparently they're pretty quick. nothing like the police chasing those types of things. those stories always look good. >> always, we're luck we bill's not here. he'd have a really bad joke about a goat crossing a street. thank you for that, todd. >> sure. time for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day. the great central u.s. shake-out, the largest ever earthquake drill takes place marking the 200th anniversary of

an earthquake that decimated the new madrid seismic zone. in california, the ninth circuit court of appeals will issue its decision on proposition eight, an amendment passed by voters in 2008 banning gay marriage. regardless of the ruling, their decision will likely be appealed to the u.s. supreme court. and country singer garth brooks turns 50. all day long, you can stay on top of the very latest developments and 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. actor ryan reynolds sits down with matt lauer to talk about his upcoming spy thriller "safe house." and country singer dierks bentley performs live with songs from his new album "home." 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. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com