>> we've been doing a lot of work to activate the terminal again. we've been doing a lot of logistic security as well as to try to make this experience one that don't be cumbersome to the passengers. >> reporter: more than 3,000 passengers who saw a fire on saturday suffered through the the lack of air-conditioning and no bathrooms. >> worst part is the bathrooms. there's no water. you can't really flush so everyone's going in little plastic baggies and putting it outside their room. >> reporter: the stench is described as overwhelmingly unmistakable. >> the conditions onboard are very challenging. >> reporter: the cruise line has canceled the next 12 voyages scheduled for triumph, but family members of passengers don't care about future trips, they just want this one to end. >> it's awful. we just want our mom home. we want to know she's safe. >> reporter: as cell phones lose communication, those on board communication becoming more difficult. >> your heart sinks, your

stomach knots up, you just want to keel over in the fetal position and go, why, why now? >> reporter: karen is waiting in mobile to pick up her 10-year-old daughter who is on the ship with her ex-husband. >> and i'm going to hold like like i've never held her before. >> reporter: and if all goes as planned that embrace will come sometime this afternoon. along with family members, medical teams will also be waiting to help any passengers or crew members who may need some care coming off that ship. live in mobile, jay gray, richard, back to you now. >> jay gray, thank you so much. we hope for a quick landing through for them. police in california say the manhunt for the cop-killer is over. the fire at a cabin where christopher dorner was holed up was not intentional but the result of a tear gas canister. the coroner is working to identify remains found inside. now just before the deadly standoff when dorner is believed

to have taken hostages, a married couple now saying he tied them up and put pillow cases on their heads before fleeing. >> i really thought this could be the end. i never even knew my reaction would be to run, but it was. i actually saw him quicker than him somehow. >> meanwhile, wednesday a funeral was held for one of dorner's alleged victims. officer michael crain was shot and killed during an ambush last week. the 34-year-old was an 11-year veteran of the riverside police department and leaves behind a wife and two children, a 10 and 4-year-old. in south africa paralympic is a double amputee known as blade runner and was taken into custody and will appear in court any minute in connection with the murder of his girlfriend. police say the 26-year-old fatally shot 30-year-old model reba steincamp at his home this

morning. he may have mistaken her for a burglar although a police spokesman tells the a.p. there have been previous incidents at his home. the athlete made history at the london games last year when he became t first double amputee runner to compete on the track at the olympics. if you're booking a flight any time soon, your choice of air carriers just got a wee bit smaller. american airlines and us airways formally announced the merger this morning. the $11 billion deal will create the world's biggest airline to keep the american airlines name and run by us airways ceo doug parker. that deal caps a turbulent half decade of bankruptcies and consolidation for the u.s. airline industry. pope benedict has two weeks left as head of the church. the pontiff celebrated his final mass at the vatican. benedict was given a long-standing ovation as he prepares to step down on february 28th. after almost eight years as

leader of more than 1.2 billion catholics worldwide. it is valentine's day and we always think of our meteorologist, bill karins. we always want good weather. >> i thought you meant with love. >> of course we love you, bill. >> good morning, everyone. as we start this valentine's day, grab the umbrella heading into the northwest. especially from olympia to bellingham. as the rain comes at us from the north and northwest, this is associated with the warm front lingering along the coast trying to move in. damp weather for the morning commute. if you are driving down i-5 today, tomorrow looks better. we are seeing a clearing trend. we have had high pressure off the west coast that's been very strong. now the high pressure ridge back here over areas of salt lake city will strengthen heading throughout the weekend. that's a change in the weather pattern and a change in the wind direction for a few spots, including southern california as this high pressure begins to strengthen it is in a position to provide us with some of the

santa ana winds. we'll see strong wind gusts in the mountains and canyons of southern california, 50 to 60 miles per hour, but it will also bring a much warmer temperature all the way to the coast. we'll watch that and dry it up there to the north. you do get warm. today is 76 in l.a. over the weekend we get to about 80 on saturday. it will be possibly cooler to the tail end of the weekend, but you get the just of it. the northwest some showers and breezy and warm in california. that's a look at your national flagstaff, arizona, nice today at 44. i think everyone in the west loves the nice, beautiful weather, but you do need the water for the summertime. >> you do. that's when they start to think about it because drought, right? we want to stay away from that. bill karins, thank you. president obama is laying out his post-presidential plans. we'll tell you what he said.

plus, members of the kennedy clan arrested outside the white house. details on that. plus, the i-village sex quiz. who is satisfied more when it comes to sex, men or women? details on that in two minutes.

welcome back. here are other stories making news this morning. the pentagon will roll out medals for members of the military who contribute without action on the front lines. it's called the distinguished war fair medal and will be awarded to among others remote pilots of unmanned predator drones. a kennedy was back at the white house yesterday but this time in handcuffs. r.f.k. jr. was one of four dozen arrested at the rally of the keystone pipeline. his 18-year-old son conor and darryl hanna were also taken into custody there. president obama is laying out plans for life after the white house. he told the crowd in alabama he's looking forward to playing a little more golf, fishing and barbecuing. new york ma mayor michael

bloomberg wants a citywide ban on plastic foam containers. the measure is set to target food packaging including take-out boxes, cups and trays. he'll unveil the proposal at today's state of the city address. and now to georgia where things got heated during a debate on live television. you can see two members of parliament clashing on the set. the topic of the debate, ways to reduce political violence. ah, the irony. the new website pundittracker.com raises predictions on everything from sports to politics to finance. if you're a gambler, don't put your money on dick morris or pat buchanan. they both have f-ratings at the moment. and on this valentine's day, i-village is out with a new survey on sex and relationships. it turns out 68% of the men say they married the best person they've had the best sex of their lives with, but only 40% of women echoed that same sentiment. a new government study finds

more younger women are using the morning-all bill than ever before. about one in nine females ages 16 to 44 now say they have used the emergency contraception up from 4% a decade ago. experts say the increased popularity is likely the result of the pill being easier to get. >> announcer: "early today" health is brought to you by vagisil cream. taking you to wall street, we'll see if investors are in the mood to love any stocks this valentine's day. historically, the s&p has been up 39% of the time on february 14th. big companies reporting earnings, general motors, pepsico and tinto. best buy, by the way, also slid after the bell on reports its ceo may not be taking the company private. new numbers out today as well show foreclosures dropped 7.%.

that's down 28% from last year. the u.s. postmaster general urged congress yesterday not to force mail delivery on saturday telling senatoring, quote, the postal service is losing $25 million a day. time warner is reportedly in talks to sell "people" and "in style" to the meredith corporation. microsoft's bill gates and carlos schmidt are teaming up to fight world hung we are a new $25 million complex to research seed development. j.d. power and associates says porsche, lexus and lincoln are the 2013 most depending vehicles. the largest flower auction sell 100 million roses and another 100 million to it on valentine's day week. if you're looking for a romantic getaway, these are trip advisors top five picks.

you better get moving. napa valley's bardessono, hawaii's koa kea, that's an inn, and inn of the five graces in new mexico. post ranch inn in big sur, california. and honor mansion. history in the making. original works from one of the first known african-american writers. plus, this skier's battle in the face of an avalanche. you'll see that coming up on "early today."

now to some other stories that caught our eye this morning. in texas packrats beware. one houston home went up in smoke after an unintended grill sparked a fire on the property. firefighters said the home was filled with several feet of clutter making it hard to get around and secure the area. the homeowner had previously been given a court order to clean up the house as it was a danger to himself and others. elsewhere in texas a doctoral student was shocked to find a forgotten poem by one of the earliest african-american writers jupiter hammon. buried in the yale archives, this was the first found since 1915 to give a new look into his beliefs on slavery. there it is. no time for ashes? no problem. congregations of some areas catered to the busy patrons by drive-by blessings so people don't have to get out of the

car. there you go. drivers in boston have found creative ways to save their parking space after last week's blizzard left so many without spots. parking savers have evolved from cones and chairs to christmas decorations, toys and everything in between. in sports, san antonio's tony parker drove down the lain to kick it out to k.y. leonard who made a three-point shot with 2.9 seconds to go for a 96-95 spurs' squeaker win over cleveland. we have an upset in college basketball as number 6 syracuse falls to uconn in the last regular season meeting in the big east before syracuse leaves. kentucky had a strong half to get to 66-58 victory there. and duke made a comeback in the second half to full out a 78-63 win over home-state rival north carolina on coach k's 66 birthday. and there was internet buzz of a photo on twitter of the

duke and mascot's head displayed on the north carolina campus. the mascot head was returned to duke before the game. mitchell marcus, a special needs student who is manager for the basketball team at coronado high school in el paso, texas, was the focus of true sportsmanship. his coach put him in for the final minute of the game and a member of the other team passed him the ball so he could make the shot. swedish golfer daniela holmqvist was bitten at the women's australian open. she used a golf tee to puncture her skin and squeeze out the venom and went on to play 14 more holes. we won't show you the video. that's one tough athlete. and a swedish skier at the cup race in switzerland has an amazing run which includes a dangerous avalanche and a risky backflip as the mass of snow wishes to bury him but he makes it out and finishes the run.

just ahead, one very cool moment for a high school basketball player. plus, one time at band camp, alyson hannigan fighting back against an alleged stalker. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this valentine's day, thursday. nice conditions in much of california and nevada and arizona. a little bit of a warm front bringing light rain at that up near bellingham, olympia and up to seattle. some of that will drift down to portland, so again, need your umbrella more today than you have the last couple days. but by friday, high pressure builds over the region. we start to warm things up with

the warm air heading northward to portland, 55, nice in portland and very mild with windy conditions in southern cal. a nice start to your weekend. >> olympia, i'm thinking of grunge immediately. i'm old. what do you do with your spare time when you are a rich and famous actor? well, if you're will ferrell, you don a security guard's uniform and take shaquille o'neal out of a lakers game. we don't know why, but we are glad he did. "american pie" star and "how i met your mother" star alyson hannigan has obtained a restrainer order against a man she claims tried to hill her family. according to the court filings the man was recently released from a mental hospital. and we move from a current

teen heartthrob to jonathan they lor thomas. since "home improvement" ended in 1999, j.t.t. has been keeping a low profile doing bits on television. and this gig marks his first time on tv since 2005. >> you have to watch to see what he looks like now. >> you want to see after all those years, i guess if you are part of any of that series, you really do have a career for the rest of your life. >> oh, yeah. and royalty. >> royalty to boot. this next one comes to us from kusa in denver, colorado. in aurora, colorado, one little boy made it home seven months late. a car crash left him paralyzed from the neck down. after 225 days in the hospital, he was finally able to return home when a group of friends and complete strangers came together to make over their home to accommodate gavyn's changing needs. great story. i'm richard lui. this is your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

a risky race in brazil takes extreme sports to a higher level. special flying suits allow athletes to leap off cliff sides using winds and parachutes to guide them to a safe landing. the sport is still obscure but many dedicated athletes came to compete in this race judged by the distance flown and accuracy of the landing. that would be scary. we know the job search for recent grads is a bit

competitive, but this is insane. these japanese students are literally screaming for jobs. thousands show up in suits and ties for a mass hiring tradition dating back to tend of world war ii. the competition seems daunting but a surprising nine out of ten will find jobs. >> sign me up. >> there could be fists flooding if we did that in the united states. banana joe has won westminster so, what comes after the trophy? his first stop was a steak lunch at sardi's. the traditional winner's meal. then it was off to brad broadway where joe stole the show in "the history of edwin drude." joe is looking forward to a quiet retirement. what do you think of these?

>> they go for up to $20,000. >> holy moly. time for an early look at the day ahead. president obama will be on the road promoting the importance of early childhood development. during his state of the union address, the president held out georgia's pre-k program for its excellence and today he will visit an early learning center in decatur. back in washington, members of the senate select intelligence committee are expected to approve white house nominee john brennan to become the nation's top spy despite controversy over drones overseas. and an interactive google doodle is honoring valentine's day. and the inventor of the ferris wheel, george farris was born on valentine's day back in 1859. nice doodle. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest stories and the best political analysis on msnbc. and tonight, be sure to watch "nbc nightly news" with brian williams. and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. hear from passengers on board the disabled carnival cruise ship triumph as a tugboat pulls it into port. and medal of honor winner

clint romesha is in the studio along with his family, to share his story of bravery and sacrifice. now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm richard lui along with bill karins. thanks for watching "early today." just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a super valentine's day.

new this morning. he ran for gold in the olympics and this morning he is in jail. why the man known as the blade runner could soon be charged with murder. >> when he jumped out and hollered, stay calm. he ran after her. >> held hostage by christopher dorner. the couple that came face to face with the ex-officer tells their story.

the threat against a local politician leads police to a stash of explosives. new details in that ongoing investigation. a live look at foggy san francisco. you can see the red lights flashing among that fog on this thursday, valentine's day, february 14th. this is "today in the bay." good morning. happy valentines days. it's 4:31. i'm jon kelley. good morning. >> happy valentine's day to you at home. i'm marla tellez in for laura garcia-cannon. let's check the forecast first and foremost with meteorologist christina loren. good morning. >> good morning to you, jon and marla. good morning to you at home. it is kind of of a mild start to the day considering most of our bay area cities are in the upper 30s and 40s this morning. we have an absolutely lovely day shaping up. temperatures are going to approach the 70s in manyit