>> good morning. coming up another showdown is brewing in washington as president obama prepares to name his pick for the next secretary of deaf. today new details in the case against james holmes in the case of the movie theater shooting that killed 12 people at a colorado theater. plus hillary clinton gets back to work. what prince charles worries about. and a kangaroo on the loose. where else but australia. "early today" starts right now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >> a very good morning to you. the white house confirmed today

president obama will announce former nebraska senator chuck hagel as secretary of defense. it will be a rough road to confirmation for the vietnam vet who outspokenly posed the iraq war. meanwhile white house officials tell nbc news that mr. obama will also nominate his counterterrorism adviser, john brennan as the next cia chief. we're just learning that. tracie potts has more from washington on both nominations for us this morning. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, everyone. the brennan announcement we just got early this morning. he's a 25 year vet at the cia and went through his own bit of controversy when he was first considered for that job back in 2008. as for chuck hagel, he is expected to face criticism from his own party, both of those nominations being announced later today. today president obama is expected to nominate his former senate colleague, 66-year-old chuck hagel to head the pentagon. >> i think it will be a lot of

tough questions of senator hagel. >> reporter: a purple heart veteran wounded in vietnam is a moderate republican who criticized the iraq troop surge, opposed unilateral sanctions against in and once said being gay inhibits effectiveness. >> he apologized for it. >> reporter: republicans call him a controversial in your face pick. >> chuck hagel if confirmed to be secretary of defense will be the most an antagonistic secretary of defense towards the state of israel. >> reporter: we'll see the wind down of troops in afghanistan. republicans are planning to throw him tough questions and pledging to be fair stop short of saying they would block this nomination. no word yet on when those confirmations now for both nominees will actually happen here on the hill. >> thank you. president obama signed a bill

into law to pay for $9.7 billion in flood insurance claims in new york, new jersey and connecticut. this is for victims who were battered by hurricane sandy two months ago. another bill is expected to be voted on next week from vied a comprehensive $51 billion aid package to cover damage from sandy and help prevent similar disasters in the future. secretary of state hillary clinton goes back to work today after several health problems in the past month. the hospital released secretary clinton last wednesday after treatment for a blood clot following a concussion and a stomach virus. doctors expect her to make a full recovery. clinton has a week of meetings scheduled including three at the white house. she's expected to leave office as soon as her successor, nature john kerry is approved by the senate. >> the an accused of gunning down a dozen people in a movie theater will be in court today. the preliminary hearing begins in colorado where a judge will decide if james holmes will be tried for murder. he'll be in the courtroom this

week as prosecutors outline their case in detail and in public for the first time. nbc's leanne gregg joins us now with more. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, richard. hundreds of people are expected to attend the hearing that will provide large amounts of previously sealed information, including gruesome details about what happened inside the theater. within five months after the theater massacre attorneys will lay out the case against jaims holmes seen here during an earlier hearing. >> the purpose of the preliminary hearing is to determine whether there is or is not probable cause holmes committed each and every one of the crimes alleged against him. >> reporter: during the week long proceedings the judge is expected to hear 911 calls, see snippets from hours of video and listen to witnesses. a ruling last week allows defense testimony about the

suspect's mental state, despite the prosecution's objections. >> one of the problems for the defense in the holmes case is by going through the preliminary hearing much of the highly inflammatory and prejudicial evidence they were able to keep from public will be made public in open court. >> reporter: these proceedings occur as controversy swirls about the planned reopening of the theater this month. some relatives of victims have rejected an invitation from the theater's parent company to attend an evening of remembrance event. >> none of us are interested in ever stepping foot in that theater, that killing field ever again. >> reporter: others feel differently and support the re-opening. >> really think that it's something that needs to be done and we're going to keep these victims memories alive. >> reporter: now one more step in the legal process to deliver justice. the mental health of james holmes is a crucial factor whether there's a plea deal or if the case goes to trial.

>> thank you. now for a look at the weather here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the forecast. good monday. >> northwest, good week last week. this week -- >> not so much? >> mother nature. evens things out. last week we had a storm system that moved down the west coast. it's now moving through arizona. much of the country was cool if not cold. the weather pattern has flipped. we're watching a lot of rain and moisture streaming in off the pacific into the northwest this week. two stephanie abrahms in two days. probably have a chance of rain through thursday. then the middle of the country will warm up with severe weather this week. this is the big january thaw across the country as the cold canadian air is a thing of the past. cold in the intermountain west under clear skies. worst weather out there in the entire country is in the northwest. some rain. colder air with snow around spokane. western washington state is dealing with snow but the pacific air moves in it will

warm things up. snow levels are beginning to rise. we're not worried about snow on i-5. some of the highest of the passes. you see the radar there, pretty filled in. for your forecast today for your travel concerns in the northwest we'll see periods of rain on and off especially this morning. then we get another portion of heavier rain tomorrow. dry from sacramento to san francisco southward into l.a. enjoy that. have a completely dry day again. so paying the price. it looks like as we head towards the end of this week colder air comes in, maybe a chance of snow in some of the areas like maybe near seattle. >> let's talk football weather. >> football weather. >> in florida? >> fine. no problems. >> no forecast?

>> alabama is tough. >> yeah. tough to go up against them. >> no matter how much you raise your fist. thanks. a big foreclosure deal a google executive heads to north korea and job stress. everybody has it but which job has the most? britain's prince charles opens up about royal fatherhood, and his future grandchildren.

his future grandchildren.

welcome back. syrian president bashir al assad has rejected international calls to step down. he says he'll continue his fight against rebel forces. he also prosed what he called a new peace plan that the u.s. state department said was detached from reality. in a new interview britain's prince charles discussed the responsibility he feels as his son prince william and his wife kate prepare to make him a grandfather. take a listen. >> i don't want to be confronted by my future grandchildren. so clearly now there's a

grandchild it makes it even more obvious, you know, to try and make sure we have them, leave them something that's not a poison chalice. >> prince charles also said he worries every night about his son prince harry who is fighting with british troops in afghanistan. this is one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world. mountain vesuvius. nasa released this image showing just how close the active volcano is to more than 3 million people in the city of naples close by. in australia a stray kangaroo led officers on a wild chase through an airport parking garage in melbourne. try to catch that fellow. it was subdued by wildlife officers who eventually released it back into the wild. taking a break there. now the markets. the dow opens at 13,435 after gaining 43 points on friday. the s&p is up seven and the

nasdaq added one. overseas today the nikkei fell 9 points while the hang seng lost one points. as washington gears up for its next nerve-racking budget battle wall street will be all about the corporate bottom line. fourth quarter earnings season that kicks off on tuesday and as always aluminum maker alcoa is the dow's first heavy hitter on deck followed by wells fargo and monsan monsanto. a settlement on floirk by a dozen lenders is expected to be announced today. the money will be drieded by americans in 2009 and 2010 and homeowners in danger of losing their homes. bill richardson and eric schmidt touched down in korea hours ago. last week the obama administration discourage this trip which the pair call a private humanitarian mission. so, how much dough will hostess make on its bread brands?

the "wall street journal" is reporting flower's food and another one are in talks to buy wonderer bread and nature's pride for an estimated $350 million. a lot of dough. starting this month washington is the first state to charge electric vehicle owners $100 a year to pay for wear and tear on state roads a fee that's collected on gas tax. from careercast enlisted military personnel have the most stressful jobs in the country. so where do you want to spend your stress free days in retirement? for the fifth year in a row, ecuador was the top foreign retirement destination for folks from u.s. and canada due to its affordability, weather and welcoming cu welcoming culture. this year tokyo restaurant owner she would out $1.7 million

for one bluefin tuna. i wonder if he ate it. nfl playoff picture is set for next week. which teams advanced and why the pga tour opener can't get off the ground. the ugly side of a flash mob as a massive stampede shuts down a louisiana mall.

here's a look at some other

stories making news. "early today" in america four. we begin with mayhem inside a baton rouge shopping mall. louisiana police broke up a fight between hundreds of teens. i want broke out after more than 200 kids arrived for a flash mob event there. authorities say at least ten people will be arrested on charges connected to that brawl. officials in one vermont town are forcing a homeowner to clean out her pig sty. she was toward remove 30 pigs from her home after the town council heard enough squealing from neighbors faced with zoning violation fines there, she has agreed to put the pigs up for adoption. cuteys. in sports. nfl wild card weekend. russell wilson through a key block on the go ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter and washington's robert griffin iii reinjured his right knee as he tried recover a bad snap.

the seahawks beat the redskins 21-4. and joe flacko connected on two touchdowns in the second half in indianapolis for a victory there. ravens star linebacker ray lewis celebrated 13 tackles following his announcement he'll retire after this season. next saturday battle will play in denver. green bay will be at san francisco. next sunday seattle visits the top seeded atlanta falcons and houston will be at new england. let's take to it college football. at the go code.com bowl arkansas state took the lead just before halftime. held on for 17-13 victory there. tonight it is the bcs national championship game with number one notre dame facing number two alabama. there will be a national hockey season this year. the league and the players union announced a deal to end the lockout and play a shortened season starting neck week. the tournament of champions pga tour will try again today to play some golf. wind gusts and rain in hawaii

have delayed the start for three days in a row. just ahead marijuana rumors swirl around a teen pop star and gerard depardieu gets comfy in his new homeland. plus find out where honey boo's money is going now that her family is raking in the big bucks. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this monday morning. the northwest getting it pretty good. some rain. also watching snow levels on the rise as warmer air moves in, avalanche watches in effect for the olympic mountains, we could see heavy rain and what we do get the moisture will be absorbed and then the avalanche threat increases as the temperatures continue to warm up over the next 48 hours. get some snow out here down towards spokane and also through the northern rockies. now the forecast does not get nasty for southern california. this storm will avoid you along with next one. you're fine from san francisco southwards. northern california all the way up to the northwest the next two days you could be in and out of the rain and wind. >> northwest being the northwest. >> exactly. >> after a nice week last week. >> they are getting a little bit payback. michael j. fox is coming back to television in september. fox plays a newscaster dealing with parkinson's disease. the show will follow his personal life and his first regular tv appearance since

"spin city." >> french actor gerard depardieu was greeted by russian president vladimir putin when he arrived at what is now his new home country. the actor was given a form fitting russian shirt. i don't know -- yeah. he toured a local museum with excited crowds in tow. gerard depardieu. i don't know if you want to see him in a tight fighting shirt. >> mother of honey boo said she's putting the reality show earnings into a trust fund. her five children are not able to touch the money for anything other than schooling or medical emergencies until they are 21. so no we continue be seeing honey boo-boo with other own private jet. >> won't be seen driving a bmw. she doesn't want to live above her means. >> finally justin bieber had some explaining to do. photos of the pop star -- what these photos show is him smoking marijuana. bieber sent out some big tweets in response to those pictures

saying he'll try to be better and he loves all his fans >> he didn't admit it. >> don't know about those tweets. he was asking for doritos in another tweet. i'm not sure. this comes to us from wnbc where in nearby long island hundreds gathered to bid farewell to a land washing. people gathered pieces of the boardwalk that was demolished. a new boardwalk is expected to be in place by summer. i'm had richard lui. this is your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

crowds gathered in athens sunday for a very chilly tradition on the christian feast day of the epiphany. a priest throws in a cross into the waters. divers dive in to recover the resurrection. sure does look cold. one medieval tradition let up the night in estonia. this tradition started in medieval times by merchant workers to mark the end of winter celebrations -- i was looking at the makeup. dancers circle the tree and wishes for the new year are

hidden inside before tree goes up in flames. in germany the term slippery slope has a literal meaning. around 90 teams gathered to participate in the annual bavarian sled racing championship. teams of four race down more than half a mile of icy slope at speeds up to 55 miles per hour. i would be worried about that sled. the traditional sleds here once used for transporting wood were inspired by the horns of mountain goats. >> that's almost like olympic style tobaggoning. >> time now for an early look at the stories we'll follow right here. u.s. supreme court justice will return to the bench this morning. oral arguments are set to resume for the january setting that begins with two classes including whether an insurance company can move a class action

lawsuit from state court to federal court. lindsay lohan is facing assault charges in connection with a fight at a manhattan nightclub. she's charged with misdeamnor assault for hitting a woman in the face during an argument. and happy birthday to talk show host katie couric. she's a young 56 today. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments, those stories and the best political analysis on msnbc and tonight be sure to watch "nbc nightly news" with brian williams. finally here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. retired general stanley mcchrystal is live to talk about his new memoir, the controversial remarks that forced his early retirlt. and two members of the kennedy family open up about battling addiction. keep it on this channel for continuing news, weather, sports and more. i'm richard lui, just your first stop today on your nbc station. have a very good one.