shalala this morning on "early today," culture war. house speaker john boehner claims an obama mandate on insurer provided birth control is an assault on religious freedom. drilling down. researchers discover a new scientific frontier. some say as important as reaching the moon. and mythical monster? has iceland's own loch ness and mythical monster? has iceland's own loch ness finally been captured on video? captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation including pacific time zones.

i'm lynn berry. today we begin with a birth control battle. the issue of contraceptive coverage may be shaping up to be an election year issue. republicans in washington and on the campaign trail are speaking out against a new rule requiring that all insurers include birth control in their health care coverage. nbc's brian mooar joins us from washington with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lynn. the white house says the president is trying to protect women but republicans say he's gone too far. congressional republicans are vowing to roll back the obama administration's controversial policy forcing religious groups with insurance plans to cover birth control. >> this attack by the federal government on religious freedom in our country must not stand and will not stand. >> this is not a women's rights issue. this is a religious liberty issue. >> reporter: the catholic church had hoped to get a waiver but didn't. >> the mandate is actually government imposing upon the

church requirements that would be against our conscience. >> reporter: now the issue is a talking point on the presidential campaign trail. >> this president who is deliberately undermining religious liberty in this country. >> this is wrong. if i'm president of the united states, i will restore and protect our religious liberty in this great country. >> reporter: the white house argues the policy isn't anti-religion. >> the president is focused on putting in place the right policies for women across the country. >> reporter: senate democrats are vowing to fight back. >> it's medicine and women deserve their medicine. >> reporter: in washington, a battle over birth control and who pays the price. and hhs secretary kathleen sebelius is expected to be grilled on his issue when she testifies here on capitol hill in three weeks. >> brian moore for us in washington, thank you. elsewhere, a high stakes international showdown may be developing over syria. england's "daily telegraph"

reports the pentagon is viewing military options as a senior u.s. official warns that the international community may be forced to, quote, militarize the crisis in syria. united nations secretary ban ki-moon says the arab league will send observers back into syria due to the escalation in violence and the u.n. may aid them in some fashion. they used tanks, mortars and artillery to shell the city of homss when again wednesday. more than 50 people were reportedly killed across the country over the past two days. a new and faster passenger screening programs are being expanded to more than 25 airports all across the country. eligible passengers, mostly frequent flyers, will be able to avoid removing their shoes and belts before they board flights in exchange for voluntary information about themselves. the transportation security administration will check out the passengers in advance.

it's already in operation at seven airports and will be expanded to reagan national airport near washington and kennedy in new york and chicago's o'hare, plus 25 others. now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. disturbing video here. an openly gay man suffered a brutal beating on the streets of atlanta. a gang of men attacked the victim after he exited a nearby store. they shouted anti-gay slurs as they pummeled him, causing minor injuries. police are still looking for the suspects and the fbi is investigating as well. all-out mayhem was sparked at a virginia high school basketball game after one player threw an elbow. moments after the play, the opposing team began shoving and fans started coming onto the court. once police were called in to restore order, officials decided to cancel the game. although he missed his target, one colorado student's failed glitter bombing on mitt romney has landed him in some hot water. the 20-year-old has been charged with three misdemeanors which could land him up to six months

in jail and $1,000 fine. finally, the lobby inside new york city's tallest skyscraper was briefly turned into a starting line wednesday. thousands of runners participated in the 35th annual empire state building run-up. more than 700 runners made the 86 story stair climb. that ends on the famous observation deck. i think i read somewhere that winner right there, todd, he finished in like ten minutes or something, 86 stories. it's sort of shocking. >> distance wise, of course a lot bigger than just running up the side of a building. >> yeah. >> that's about 1,000 feet from the deck. >> so, anyway, for a check of your forecast. >> yes. >> here you are. >> yeah. >> take it away. >> yesterday we had a few snowflakes later yesterday in the daytime around new york city. as far as the snow today not seeing very much of it showing map. the at least the radar right now, everywhere you see green is not necessarily rain, especially

through western colorado. we will talk about snow over the next couple days, but we need the colder air before it actually starts. what you're looking at across a good portion of the west, that batch of moisture mainly on the rain side of things. that line of clouds right there, there's a cold front hiding in there as that pushes to the south, that will bring much cooler air and gets in towards colorado, wyoming bringing better chances for snow over the next couple days. winter radar you see a few of those spots there, may see a little snow towards amarillo, texas, upwards of an inch by today, and later evening hours, but the real story across the west coast is mainly some of the rain showers, warm front moving north. the bulk of the heavy rain will be heading towards say british columbia. towards seattle less than a half inch worth of rain. another chance into late tomorrow that will spread some of the rain showers to north of the bay area in california. a chance for showers closer towards mount chast ta as we finish the week. look at the temperatures, still fairly milder towards the coastline. we'll take a closer look of what you can expects, bakersfield,

california, looking good today. so so amidsted sunshine for some areas watching moisture in the mountains and that means snow for the next couple days. at least for the people who go to the mountains for the weekend. >> thanks so much. also ahead, chinese inflation heats up. mcdonald's sells more breakfasts and what do women really want for valentine's day? your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. she's made millions when it comes to baring all, literally, all for the camera, but when it comes to her divorce proceedings, that's a different story. coming up -- an amazing finish between duke and north carolina, syracuse and georgetown need overtime and will ferrell like you've never heard him before.

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good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. indiana health and safety officials released their findings into an investigation of last year's deadly state fair stage collapse. indiana state fair commission, a stage hands labor union, and the company that owned and erected the roof that collapsed have been charged tens of thousands of dollars for failing to plan for severe weather. england's duchess of cambridge has stepped out for her first solo public engagement. kate middleton attended a private viewing of an art exhibit at london's national portrait gallery. breakthrough in antarctica is compared to man's exploration of the moon. russian scientists say they have reached the surface of a massive fresh water lake that has been hidden under nearly four miles of ice for 20 million years.

researchers hope to discover prehistoric and other unknown life forms. speaking of subglacial life forms. video of a creature swimming through a river has revived local legends of a river worm compared to the loch ness monster. yes, this is not science fiction. this is real video. critics claim it's just a fishing net. here's an early look at one of your top health headlines on msnbc. a new study finds that 11% of doctors say they have told the patient something that was not true in the past year. about 20% of doctors admit they lied to a patient because they were afraid of being sued. the report also said some doctors might lie because they don't want to upset patients or worry them or cause them to lose hope. for more information on this and other health stories, check out the health page at msnbc.com. "early today health" brought to you by vagisil.

now here is an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,883, after adding five points yesterday. the s&p was up two points. the nasdaq gained 11. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo, the nikkei lost 13 points. while in hong kong, the hang seng was down 8. investors are waiting for the big number on weekly jobless claims and worrying about greek debt. leaders in greece failed today to agree on a reform and austerity program so the finance minister travels to brussels with an incomplete deal for a bailout from the europe union. in china, consumer spending jumped during the chinese lunar new year holiday season and the annual inflation spiked to 4.5% in january. the weekly unemployment claims information to be released this morning by the labor department is of special interest after the improved job creation report last week. more than 2 million americans could benefit from at least 25 billion dollars in

relief from the nation's biggest banks as part of a broad government foreclosure settlement. cisco systems reported quarterly earnings and revenue higher than analyst estimate in large part due to $1 billion in cost cutting. the first earnings announcement for groupon since going public last year is a disappointment missing on earnings but better on revenue. consumers slice their cards more and authorized a new 500 million share buyback program for visa. diamond foods remove top management after an investigation found the company improperly accounted for payments to walnut growers. mcdonald's revenues jumped more than 6% in january as they sold more breakfast items and chicken mcbites. finally, listen up, guys, for valentine's day on tuesday, romantic flowers or electronic gadgets? well, a new survey says the majority of women want gadgets this year like ereaders, ipads or cell phones.

not really a fair comparison, ipad and flowers, so no pressure. the orange men win in overtime. a rising star leads the knicks to another victory. and duke sticks last-second dagger into their arch rival. plus, will farrell has been in town shooting a movie so why not also become an announcer for the new orleans hornets? your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. we'll take another look ahead in your travel weather for your thursday also, and a preview of friday coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up this is "early today." in sports, duke against north carolina is one of, if not, college basketball's greatest rivalry. last night, they added fuel to their historic feud here is fred roggin with an early look at all of your sports headlines. good morning. in college hoops, you live and die by the three-pointer and the duke blue devils are living life to the fullest. let's go to chapel hill for arguably the best rivalry in sports. fifth ranked north carolina led the entire game until the end. duke hit 14 three-pointers and rallied from 13 down in the final minutes. austin rivers, the three for the win! and nothing but net. ninth ranked duke capped off a remarkable comeback and won a thriller 85-84.

number two syracuse and 11th ranked georgetown. many people picking the orange to win it all this year mainly because of that guy. melo, 11 points and six blocks. joseph a career high. including the go ahead three in o.t. jim boeheim with a win. jeff whitey came to play the seven footer a career high 25. jayhawks win big 68-54. forget the giants. everybody in new york talking about the knicks jeremy lin, averaging over 25 the last three games and another 23 last night. knicks beat the wiz 107-93. the bulls won a laugher last night in new orleans but actor will farrell had everybody in stitches during pregame introductions. >> at forward, number 5, he still lives with his mother! carlos boozer! at guard, number 1, his favorite movie is "the notebook" derrick

rose. at center, 6'10" from connecticut where he majored in econ, but he minored in love! omeka okafor! >> leave it to will farrell to uncover the shocking truth about today's nba players. >> that is your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. what is the only thing that katy perry asked for in her split with russell brand? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, when it comes to fighting high school bullies, sometimes might does make it right. we will explain. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. looking at an exceptional day through a good stretch of skourn california. los angeles, 82 degrees, full sunshine. sounds wonderful through a number of other areas of the country. the northwest hanging on to a chance for showers. may see a break towards seattle tonight, tomorrow gets more showers building across the area, spreading down even towards the northwest edge of california for friday. if you're watching us on kmtr in eugene, oregon, learn about the anatomieies and behaviors of mo key stos and vampire bats. that is your pacific event of the day. >> a it terrifying picture.

here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. it could have been messy but katy perry and russell brand have ended it quietly. tmz reports perry's response to brand's filing indicates the couple has settled completely. brand will not pursue half of the approximately $40 million she earned while they were together. perry wants her former name restored, katherine elizabeth hudson. radar on-line reports kim kardashian wants her divorce proceedings held by a private mediator and no it television cameras. ironically her ex, kris humphries, wants a televised trial, a move his celebrity divorced attorney raul feller not surprisingly called brilliant. finally, gisele bundchen furry won't die down at least in boston where they have taken to calling her yoko. she angered brady teammates with her post-super bowl criticism but now the wives are sniping at gisele for being, quote, snobby,

stuck-up and, obviously, feeling superior. never a good thing when the football wives turn on you. >> no. >> awkward at like the picnic. >> it will be. yoko, she would have to play on the team to pull it off. i don't know. this comes to us from woai, news 4 in san antonio, texas, a few high school upper classmen are helping the new kid tackle bullying. one reached out for help when bullies began targeting him. to combat the problem, his guidance counselor enlisted three seniors from the football team to walk juan to his classes. in a few weeks juan's life completely turned around. not only about did the bullying stop those seniors say what started out as sort of a task became hanging out with a new friend. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," your first stop of the day, today, on your nbc station.

political figures in russia are appearing in different patterns throughout their country. vladimir putin and other russian leaders have made their way all through to homes throughout russia. a textile plant began producing tapestries. soon found a market in home decor. the images are woven on to large spools which are laid out, cut, and framed. >> in hungary, burning through cash is actually a good thing. bank notes deemed unfit for circulation are pressed into bricks and donated to charities to be used and burned for heating instead of fuel like coal, wood, and domestic waste. each year, the national bank

selects two charities that receive 20 to 30 tons of bricks. officials say burning the repurpose bank notes poses no health threats. finally in tokyo, one arts and crafts project caused quite a stir at a local zoo, as part of a drill to prepare for animal emergency, yes, it was a papier-mache rhino animated by two staff members that trudged around the zoo and then police officers, paramedics and employees of the zoo tried their hands at saving their colleagues from danger. the rhino was eventually tranquilized and captured. learning on the job, i guess. >> breeding complaints -- that easy to take down a rhino -- >> rip off his ears. >> here are stories we'll follow throughout the day here. the pentagon will announce findings on whether or not women should be assigned to combat roles. and it's expected the pentagon will announce over

14,000 new jobs mostly in the army and marines and not necessarily combat roles will now be open to women. in michigan, a serious case with serious ramifications for religion tradition, a three-judge panel will decide if a pastor violated the priest privilege when he testified against a church member who confessed a crime to him. and paul mccartney will unveil his star on the hollywood walk of fame. all day long, stay on top of the latest developments and those stories and others as they break on msnbc. tonight, watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." finally, here's a look at what is coming up later this morning on the "today" show. in an exclusive, ann curry sits down live with a new york grandmother who claims she had a secret white house affair with president kennedy. and the fray will perform live. from their new album "scars and stories." continue to keep it on this channel for news, weather, and sports. i'm lynn berry. thank you for watching "early today," your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a good one.