she had multiple run-ins with the law and multiple stays in rehab through much of the 2000s, including a charge of driving under the influence, using fake prescriptions, battery and violating probation. following the death of her music producer david wilson in january, mccready was involuntarily admitted to an inpatient treatment facility. a day later the troubled celebrity was released to outpatient treatment. in the last interview with nbc's andrea canning, the singer spoke of how wilson's death had affected her. >> he was my life. we were each other's life. >> reporter: mindy mccready was 37 years old. she leaves behind two young children. nbc news. we are learning more details about the shocking murder case against olympic hero oscar pistorius. police in south africa have charged the track star with the premeditated murder of her girlfriend reeva steenkamp inside his home on valentine's day. an agent for pistorius' camp

canceled all future track races raising the possibility that the double amputee who ran to history in the summer games never will race competitively again. as the jail blade runner receives visits from his family, his agent says big-name sponsors like nike and oakley are also sticking by his side. the gop is lashing out against a white house immigration plan leaked over the weekend. senator marco rubio called it "half baked and seriously flawed." the white house says it's a back up plan in case congress's efforts stumble. brian mooar has more. >> reporter: immigration is one of the issues that sparks democrats and republicans. while eight senators are finishing a bipartisan bill, "usa today" reveals the white house has been working on a backup plan if the current efforts fall apart. >> if those do not work out, then we'll have an option this will be ready to put out there. >> reporter: president obama's chief of staff says the white

house proposal would bolster border security and include a path to citizenship for this nation's 11 million undocumented immigrant. republicans say any plan with the president's name on it is bound to fail. >> of course it will. and that's why we are working together, republicans and democrats. by the way, he's had no communications with republicans on the issue, unlike the previous four presidents that i've dealt with. >> reporter: senator john mccain is one of the so-called gang of eight lawmakers working on the bipartisan bill. so is florida republican marco rubio who says the president's plan won't work. other members of the gop are not happy to see the white house weighing in. >> when they come out and adamantly say my way or the highway and if congress doesn't ask i'll put it on the desk and say "pass it now," that's no way to get it done. >> reporter: the white house is ready to press ahead with immigration reform if congress can't or won't act. brian mooar, nbc news, washington. president obama's nominee to run the pentagon will have to

wait at least another week for an up or down vote in the senate. it now appears chuck hagel will get the vote when senators return. two top republicans say they will stop efforts to stall his confirmation. that filibuster came a day after hagel was approved by the armed services committee on a party-line vote. one of his most vocal opponents says while he doesn't believe hagel is qualified, he won't hold up the process. >> i thought we had an agreement to wait a week so the remaining questions would be answered, but i understand the white house wanted a vote. they got a vote. we will have a vote when we get back. i'm confident that senator hagel will probably have the votes necessary to be confirmed as the secretary of defense. >> the gop it says blocked hagel's nomination in an effort to further examine his record and views on israel and iran. senate majority leader harry reid hopes to bring a final vote to the floor when congress goes back in session next monday.

residents in coastal new england are cleaning up after yet another blast of winter weather following the big blizzard last weekend. parts of the northeast including massachusetts got up to six inches of snow on sunday. the winter snowstorm then headed north into maine, carrying with it strong, gusty winds and low visibility. here's more on that and our national forecast, nbc meteorologist bill karins. >> a bad storm for new england once again. wind chills negative numbers, 50 mile-per-hour winds. wasn't as bad as the blizzard two weeks ago. now the pattern switches. now the west coast will get a storm. >> the snow was nice. always nice. >> nice to look outside the window for a day, maybe. we have snow heading into areas and even southern california. interesting weather pattern will take shape as a big storm dips down along the west coast, move across the country. pushing into the central plains and much of the intermountain west will get snow. we're setting the stage with relatively coldest type air that's in place over the

intermountain west. so it's chilly out there in many spots. this storm is still up into the gulf of alaska. it will not be today, it will be tuesday the impact in many areas of the west. stationary front lingering and this frontal boundary dying here along the coast. behind i want, an upper level low, storm at the higher elevations and that will slide down the coastline. this is how it will look. this is our future cast radar. the green is where the rain is, blue is where the snow is. this is for tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. on the west coast. rain right off the coastline of southern california, blue shows you where the snow is. mount shasta and all the mountain chains chance for snow. already some winter storm warnings that have been issued for mountainous areas in southern california outside of los angeles and san diego. especially along interstate 15. we'll watch that and then by wednesday morning it's gone that's the big weather story in

the heavier rain and storms will be tomorrow. first storm we've had in the west for a while. not a big one. just a chance of a thunderstorm. >> how about the skiers? >> southern portions of california in the mountains. >> this is what's coming up. another chicago teen shooting. and being the leader of the free world does have its perks. find out which of the former presidents were wealthiest. "early today" is back in two minutes.

good morning and welcome back.

here are stories making news this morning. the national mall was the site of a massive protest sunday against the controversial keystone exxon pipeline. organizers at the climate event estimate 35,000 people turned out in washington. the demonstrators called on president obama to keep a pledge and act on climate change. >> in florida the coast guard said it was flood with calls last night describing orange and red fire balls in the sky. an expert tells our station in miami that it was likely part of a meteor shower. venezuelan president hugo chavez is back in his country after medical treatment abroad. and another chicago teen was killed in north chicago on the same day that her sister attended president obama's speech on gun violence.

and memorabilia from kennedy. there were letters from former first lady jackie kennedy as well as photographs and books. u.s. markets are closed for the president's holiday. housing recovery will be a big focus. housing starts wednesday and existing home sales thursday. investors will also be on the hunt for some clarity from the fed. the release of its last meeting minutes. the question is whether there's been any more talk of ending its easy money policy. also on deck, walmart's earnings report. speculation is swirling after bloomberg quoted an internal e-mail saying walmart's february sales were "total disaster." gold will also be on the radar this week. the recent market darling has tumbled to a six-month low, shedding 4% already this year. prices at the pump have been on the rise each of the past 29 days, rising seven cents this week to a average in of $3.64 a

gallon, 12 cents more than last year. a strike by a major spanish airline could ground more than 1,000 flights this week. workers at iberia began a five-day strike at midnight over plans to cut more than 3,800 jobs and salaries. bmw is recalling almost 575,000 cars in the u.s. and canada because a battery connector can fail. it can cause the engine to stall. after a backlash from customers, maker's mart is doing an about-face of restoring its alcohol volume in its whiskey to 45%. this after last week's announcement that it would be forced to dilute to 42%. and on this president's day, which of our nation's leaders was the wealthiest? take a wild guess. 24/7 wall street crunched the numbers. george washington was the richest president beating out thomas jefferson and teddy roosevelt by several hundred

million dollars. >> next half-court shot that's worth much more than three-points and four adorable lion cubs make their debut at a seattle zoo. what would you do if a stranger slapped your baby during a flight? it happened and now an idaho man is facing federal charges. we'll have that story next.

take a look at this. this is a shot of the empire

state building here in new york city last night bathed in red, white, and blue in honor of our commanders in chief past and present on this president's day. okay, now some stories that caught our eye this morning. in north carolina, a 40,000-gallon ethanol tank burst into flames. officials believe the fire erupted from an explosion sparked by lightning. the blast rattled homes about two miles away and forced over 70 firefighters to battle 20 to 30-foot flames before the fire was extinguished. in minneapolis a baby is recovering from a horrific attack. the 19-month-old was allegedly called the "n" word and slapped by a passenger during a plate to atlanta. the child's mother says joe rick hunley became irate over her son's crying. the 60-year-old has been arrested on federal assault charges and suspended from his job. it was showtime in seattle for a litter of south african lion cubs. the two sisters and two brothers made their debut at the woodland park zoo. the 3-month-old siblings spent their first outing thrilling the crowd with their curiosity and

exploring the enclosure. finally, a new york city museum found a cheesy way to celebrate president's day. ripley's believe it or not recently unveiled a mt. rushmore sculpture made of cheddar cheese. a master carver used four blocks of cheese to sculpt the 160-pound replica. moving to sports, we start with the nba all-star game. in a high-scoring game, the teams stayed within a few points of each other most of the time. in the fourth quarter, blake griffin of the clippers bounced the ball off the backboard and dunked it. the west wins 143-138. an upset in college ball as number 20 wisconsin rolled over number 13 ohio state. the badgers beat the buckeyes by 22 points. 71-49. nascar driver danica patrick makes history as the first woman to win pole position for next week's daytona 500 or any sprint cup race. four-time champ jeff gordon finished with the second best this time.

patrick gets the coveted starting spot. and during his florida golf weekend, president obama played in a foursome with tiger woods. no cameras were allowed, no word on the president's score. he reportedly told woods it was good to see him "play well again." in canada, the basketball coach at brennan university took a half-court shot and -- watch -- makes it. the surprise resulted in free tuition for a student who was smart enough to choose the right person to take the shot. "early today" sports is brought to you by touch of gray. get rid of some gray, never all. ahead, bruce willis is back on top. and brangelina's adventure. find out what "snl" had to see about the carnival cruise disaster. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. i was men shopping the winter weather heading in to the west and diving down. already we have winter storm warnings in the mountainous areas in san diego and palm springs and l.a. winter advisories in other levels. snow levels are pretty low. be interesting to see how low they get. that's throughout tuesday, tuesday night is when we should see the snow. some showers today in the northwest. tuesday gets more active as the storm dives down the coast. we could see small hail with those thunderstorms in california. be interesting how this storm

plays out and it will be responsible for a big storm in the middle of the country come thursday. the next big weather maker. >> thank you, bill. >> 25-year-old die-hard fan showed it had some life. "a good day to die hard" scored $25 million this week. helping it take the number-one spot, "identity thief" stayed strong while "safe haven" rounded out the top three. brad pitt and angelina jolie have been working with a french winemaker to produce a rose from their estate. >> they are bored, they need something to do. >> it looks like a nice bottle. >> it will probably being a great. >> it will go on sale next month. and looks like the new "star wars" movie wosn't be without han solo. harrison ford has reportedly signed on for the new film. most likely thanks to one large sum of money, i would say. finally, "snl" tackled the carnival cruise line this week showing two crew members attempting to cheer up passengers. take a look.

>> i'll see what's in the news. the pope resigned. oh, lord. [ laughter ] >> here's something fun. north korea successfully launched a nuclear -- no. no. >> do you remember the olympic sprint, blade runner. >> amazing story. incredible. >> absolutely. it says here that -- no, no. >> you guys think you might have it bad, but do you have it worse than 4,000 stranded on nightmare cruise? that is about us -- >> that's us, yeah. enough of the headlines. >> have you ever been on a cruise before? >> haven't and i refuse to go for that very reason. >> that scene is almost haiti is, entertainment director does all the announcements and everything. that was pretty spot on. >> bet they were struggling. i heard they had performers continue to entertain. >> i want to hear from the

person in charge of entertainment. >> i'm veronica de la cruz. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day on your nbc station.

a famously adored bear has been immortalized in berlin two years after his sudden death. knut drawing crowds again. the 4-year-old cub made famous when his mother rejected him was made into a new model, using his own fur and claws. he was unveiled at the natural history museum to a group of his adoring fans. >> one food fight in chile isn't just fun for the kids.

the tomato war brought participants to one town. participants hurled tomato at each other to relieve stress between family and friends. some wore protective goggles. most just enjoyed playing in the saucy mess. we should try that right here on the set. to relieve stress, of course. right? >> of course. peace and quiet isn't on the program for the newest yoga trend. check this out. laughter yoga. it's gaining popularity around the world. venezuela has jumped on the bandwagon. the idea is that laughter gets more oxygen to the brain than deep breathing does. the participants spend seconds giggling through poses and interacting with each other to relieve stress. again, you know, it's -- i sense a theme this morning, bill. >> yes. >> most sessions are held outdoors and are free of charge. >> it's almost like everyone got bored of regular yoga, so they created the yoga you do at like 120 degrees, the hot yoga. now laughing yoga. >> that didn't look like yoga to

me. >> i'm going to keep a list. >> how about tomato-throwing yoga? sounds good. time for an early look at stories making news today and on this day in history. hockey's champion boston bruins will bring some cold weather cheer to newtown, connecticut, today. and on the heels of a visit to the white house celebrating last year's stanley cup win, the team will hold a street hockey clinic, sign autographs for children, and present autographed and framed jerseys to first responders. today marks the anniversary of the tragic death of racing star dale earnhardt jr. he died from injuries suffered in a crash in 2001. and we would like to wish artist and singer yoko ono a very happy birthday. the widow of john lennon turns 80 years old today. happy birthday. all day long, you can stay on top of the latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. tonight, be sure to watch brian williams with nbc "nightly news." finally, here's a look at what's coming up on the "today" show. author and comedian steve harvey takes a shot at anchoring in studio 1a.

plus, meet a "g.q." writer who is going the extra mile to learn what it's like to be pregnant. i can tell him. keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports, and much more. i'm veronica de la cruz. thank you very much for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today your nbc station. have a terrific president's day.

breaking news overnight. a police pursuit in the south bay turns deadly. >> she was really smart in school and now she can't pursue here dreams. >> a grieving mother speaks out about a deadly fire that took her 10-year-old daughter. have you seen this man? police say he goes on random attacks against women and his crime spree may just be getting started. a live look outside for your

monday morning at the beautiful bay bridge. it's presidents day, monday, february 18th. this is "today in the bay." it is just about 4:31. good morning, everybody. thank you for joining us. i'm jon kelley. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. lots to get to this morning. let's first check that forecast with meteorologist christina loren. good morning to you. >> glad to have you back, laura. good morning to you. good morning to you at home. temperatures this morning are running chilly but not that bad. in fact, 39 degrees in livermore. it's about seven degrees above average when it comes to your lows. however, highs today will be on par with winter averages and we've got a cold, wet pattern to get through this week. we'll start that off for you. first it's 4:31 on back to work monday. good morning, mike. >> we'll take you to fremont southbound 880 looking at head lights past the sign for auto mall parkway. a light volume of traffic.