good monday morning. here's what's coming up on "early today." security threats. the winter olympics in sochi are facing islamic militant groups threatening to disrupt the games to embarrass russia's vladimir putin. christie investigation. the probe widens beyond traffic trouble in areas of political strong arming, which the govern's office calls categorically false. super bowl set. the nfl's number one offense squares off the number one defense as peyton's dream season comes to a head. we celebrate dr. martin luther king jr. on this day, the 20th day of january. and "early today" starts right now. well, good morning.

it is nice to see you. i'm veronica de la cruz. the wait is over, football fans. the seattle seahawks and the denver broncos are going to the super bowl. let's start with the nfc title game. the san francisco 49ers score the first touchdown with anthony dixon's leap over the defense. the niners lead 10-3 at halftime, but in the third, seattle goes into beast mode. marshawn lynch, 40-yard touchdown. game tied, 10-10. then colin kaepernick in the pocket as it closes in. he fires off to anquan boldin, touchdown. the niners regain the lead, 17-10. russell wilson with this cannon pass to jermaine kearse. there you go. the hawks take the lead for first time, 20-17. later, seconds left in the game, the seahawks are up 23-17, kaepernick throws an interception into the end zone. broncos and patriots, denver scores the first touchdown of the game and the second, peyton manning connects with jacob

tammy. no patriots touchdown in first half. in the third, manning connects with demaryius thomas for a touchdown. denver leads 20-3. three minutes left in the fourth, tom brady rushes for the four. the patriot go for two, the only chance at winning, stopped by denver's defense. the patriots don't get a comeback win. denver, the afc champion, wins 26-16. and there it is. the seattle seahawks will take on the denver broncos at metlife stadium in new jersey on february 2nd. also in new jersey, there is more trouble for governor chris christie. another mayor coming forward saying she was the target of political retribution. the governor says it is politics at play. here is nbc's national investigative correspondent michael isikoff. >> reporter: while huddling with big donors in florida, chris christie woke up to new headlines about claims from a democratic mayor of strong arm

tactics that cut her city off from funds to recover from hurricane sandy. and democratic lawmakers are now vowing to investigate. >> she's perhaps one of the first mayors to actually come forward and say, this specific thing happened. i think the committee needs to look at the facts, hear her story, look at the e-mails. >> reporter: hoboken mayor dawn zimmer alleges christie's lieutenant governor threatened her, unless she back a billion dollar development project, her city would lose funding for sandy recovery. >> i would stake my life on it. i will go before anyone that asks me to come and testify. i will take a lie detector test and i say to, you know, him and his administration, will you do the same? >> reporter: zimmer faces new questions about her credibility and her timing. >> she also said she liked working with governor christie. so i think you have to look at her current statement in light of her former statement before this became an orchestrated pile on. >> reporter: even christie's 2013 democratic opponent barbara buono took a swipe tweeting.

zimmer sounded uncertain whether sandy funds had been withheld as political payback. >> with 2020 hindsight and the context we're in now, you can look back and say, okay, it is retribution, but i think probably all mayors are reflecting now and thinking about it. but, you know, i really hope that that's not the case. >> reporter: in interviews this weekend, zimmer said she didn't mention the sandy threat before because she feared nobody would believe her and was still in the process of deciding whether to come forward. christie aides called zimmer's charges categorically false. they say hoboken got $70 million in funding for sandy recovery, on par with other communities and said the $100 million zimmer requested was for future flood control, not for sandy relief. and that the amount was over one-third of all state resources for a city that is only two square miles. >> and that was nbc's michael isikoff reporting there.

to russia, increased threats are surfacing 17 days away from the start of winter olympics in sochi. the threat comes in the form of a new video released by an islamic militant group. they're claiming responsibility for deadly twin suicide bombings in volgograd late last month. duncan golestani joins us live from london with more. duncan, good morning. how credible are the threats? >> reporter: good morning, veronica. well, we haven't been able to verify the video, but it does appear on to be credible. posted on a website known to be used by islamic militants. the video shows the two men strapping on their suicide vests filled with explosives. wirz running down their arm to a trigger button. they claim responsibility for two bombings in volgograd last month, on a railway station and on a bus. they promise there is more to come during the olympics. they talk about tourists receiving a present. they say it will be revenge for all the muslim blood being spilled around the world. over the weekend, president

putin was once again trying to reassure visitors the games in sochi will be safe. security is incredibly tight around the city, with airport style checks and more than 30,000 police and military push nell. but the fear is militant groups will try to hit targets elsewhere in russia, soft targets like transportation hubs, just like the ones attacked last month. veronica? >> duncan, thank you. and there are new questions about the most famous american already in russia, edward snowden. this morning, some lawmakers want to know if he acted alone or got help from inside the kremlin. the house intelligence chairman is launching an investigation. >> i believe there is a reason he ended up in the hands, the loving arms of an fsb agent in moscow. i don't think that's a coincidence, number one. number two -- >> you think the russians helped snowden. >> i believe there is questions to be answered there. i don't think it was a gee whiz luck event he ended up in

moscow. >> government investigators tell nbc news there is no evidence to suggest snowden had help from another country. the white house, in the moan time, is not commenting. a wake-up call to tell you about, 2 1/2 years in the making and more than 500 million miles away. this is the unmanned rosetta spacecraft launched in 2004. it has been hibernating since 2010 to conservative energy. today, it will awaken to begin its unprecedented mission to land on a comet. scientists hope it will help them answer one key question, whether comets are responsible for water on earth. it is expected to land on the comet's icy service on november 11th. bill karins with the monday morning forecast. >> that seems unbelievable. comets racing around through space and this thing is going to land on it? i'll be very impressed. >> there you go. >> the drought in the west continued over the weekend. we stopped breaking record highs in san francisco at the airport. we went seven days in a row breaking the record high for san

francisco international airport. we broke -- not like it cooled off much. 67 in san francisco. only one degree away from the record high. still 80 in l.a. no rain over the weekend. and year to date rainfall just since january 1st. very little if any and the whole state of california. so what do we have as far as -- do you have any long range computer models changing their tune and changing the forecast. you can see as it looks like today and tomorrow, no signs of any storms in sight. as we go towards the end of the month, sometimes around the 20th or 29th, tries to -- long range computers try to break down the ridge a little bit. really been protecting california from many of the storms. we're a little hopeful the weather pattern may change a little bit as we head to the end of the month and february. another week away with more dry weather and more drought conditions and just getting worse until it rains. that's your national

one thing needs to get a lot of attention, some areas in washington and oregon had five straight days of dense fog too. so they the air got trapped in the valleys. l.a. is toasty. >> not too shabby. thanks, bill. charges in the maryland exorcism case. the president speaks out on marijuana and compares it to alcohol. and first lady's birthday extravagancia was a smash hit. we have details when "early today" continues. in a focus group you said, and i quote

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the country dramatically changes policies away from the eu and toward russia. president obama told the new yorker magazine smoking pot is no more dangerous than drinking alcohol. he says outright legalization of the drug won't solve all the problems. according to police, a maryland mother killed two of her children friday while attempting to perform an exorcism. the woman and another woman were charged in the deaths of the children and the police won't elaborate on the exorcism claims. a woman attempting to flee an accident in her honda. she lost control of her car and struck a pedestrian before spinning out and coming to a stop. the pedestrian is in the hospital with nonlife threatening injuries and the driver is in police custody. and celebrities came out to play for first lady michelle obama's 50th birthday, james taylor, beyonce performed and

got to know white house pup sonny. sounds look a great birthday. and the stock market is closed for martin luther king jr. day. a realtor is taking home showing to a whole new level, giving perspective drivers a drone eye view of properties by using high tech gadgets. but the commercial use of drones is prohibited so this may be a short lived selling tool. we shall see. john and marcia goldman are picking up the $105,000 tab for the bat kid fantasy come true. back in november, the city gave 5-year-old leukemia patient miles scott a chance to be the caped crusader to fight villains and rescue the damsel. now the goldmans are paying it forward. online shopping giant amazon has got a patent on what they call package shipping, meaning amazon will ship products to fulfillment centers even before customers click to buy them. because amazon believes that you

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this morning on "today," "girls" star lena dunham's

recent "vogue" cover is sparking debate over the idea of beauty in the media. a look at the backlash and what she's saying about the controversy. okay, so peyton manning's play calls didn't just help the broncos become the afc champions. they raised money for charity. manning raised almost $25,000 during the patriots/broncos game. since the chargers/broncos game last week, manning has been getting praise from nebraska for shouting omaha before snapping the ball. eight businesses offered to pay $800 for every omaha heard in the afc title game to donate to manning's payback foundation. on sunday, manning said omaha 31 times. ka-ching. and a zoo in omaha showed their appreciation to the legendary quarterback by naming a baby penguin peyton manning. at the australian open two big upsets over the weekend, serena williams losing to ana ivanovic in the fourth round. third seeded maria sharapova was

also omitted in the fourth round. at the open, the most composed ball boy you may ever see, check this out, oh, right in the face. oh. but he stands still and he's okay. he's okay. now to some olympic news, track and field star lolo jones officially named to the u.s. bobsled team and will compete at the sochi olympics. shaun white earned himself a spot on the u.s. halfpipe team, winning in california on sunday. white will compete in the slope style event. a-rod could not escape this weekend's "saturday night live" as host drake played an ever denying alex rodriguez. check this out. >> you're blaming this on auto correct? >> i'm attempting to, yes, like -- one time i texted bosch, like, what up son, thinking of seeing "frozen," heard good

things, but somehow that auto corrected to just took 100 steroids, need to buy thousands more. this is a-rod, by the way. "early today" sports is brought to you by just for men auto stop. gray is over. superman gets shoved back. a bizarre moment for actor bradley cooper. your entertainment is next. ♪ [ male announcer ] your eyes. even at a distance of 10 miles... the length of 146 football fields... they can see the light of a single candle. your eyes are amazing. look after them with centrum silver. multivitamins with lutein and vitamins a, c, and e

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well, with this persistent weather pat hetern in west, the same is for alaska. all the cold air is displaced. 11 degrees in fairbanks, pretty mild for this time of year. we're looking at a very warm start to the new year here in january. warm winter overall. only the coldest of air near barrow. even minus 9 for there isn't all that bad. the forecast for today, 35 in anchorage. little bit of rain in juneau at 40 degrees. west, as we mentioned, really nothing that will change anytime soon. we're still stuck in the mid-40s in the pacific northwest. we're still looking at temperatures above average, not quite record highs, but above average in areas of california. relative humidity up a little bit too. that's why we don't have the red flag warnings like we did last week. the fire danger still going to be there until it begins to rain. >> no polar plunge for the west coast. >> no. probably would like a little taste of wint erk right? >> they need it. thanks, bill. buddy comedy ride along had no problem taking home a win at

the box office over the weekend. it pulled in over $41 million, setting a new january opening record. while jack ryan shadow recruit bombed, only $17 million. those you've excited to see ben affleck as the dark knight will have to wait as the movie has a push back to may 2016. >> that's a big delay. >> it is, right? after the success of the sound of music, nbc announced this year's big live stage show will be peter pan starring bill karins. >> that's me. >> there you go in the tights. it is going to be taking flight december 4th. the last time pan was on nbc was back in the '60s. sasheer zamata made her big debut over the weekend, she donned pjs to play a teen hosting a sleepover and did a nice rihanna impression. and more trophies were given out to movie stars this weekend, this time at the 20th annual

screen actors guilds awards. the night started with bradley cooper get an extremely -- what is going on there? awkward hug? >> he's probably used to that. >> you think? >> everyone probably runs up to him and grabs on. >> by guys like this. this is a ukrainian prankster hated by everyone in hollywood. this is not the first time he's hit the red carpet, right? american hustle took home the night's biggest award winning best ensemble cast. matthew mcconaughey and jared leto won for "dallas buyers club." the last second, cuba gooding jr. interrupted ben affleck with this holiday message. >> screen actors guilds awards, good night. >> happy mlk. >> happy mlk weekend! >> i'm veronica de la cruz. this is "early today." i need proof of insurance. that's my geico digital insurance id card - gots all my pertinents on it and such. works for me. turn to the camera.

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leading the news on this martin luther king jr. day in the washington post, mlk discusses kennedy and rediscovered 1960 tape. it contains audio of king discussing kennedy's role. the recording will be played at the national civil rights museum in memphis today. in the huffington post, u.s. ambassador caroline kennedy deeply concerned by japanese dolphin hunt. each year the mammals are herded into a cove to either be killed or captured. and some stories that you may have missed now. controversial comments from russian president vladimir putin on gays. he said they should face no discrimination and should feel at ease, but they must leave the children in peace.

putin defended the country's anti-gay law saying it is aimed banning propaganda of homosexuality and pedophilia. putin said russia needs to cleanse itself of homosexuality if it wants to increase its birth rate. switching gears now to a dramatic whale rescue in new zealand. more than 100 volunteers helped bring dozens of whales into deeper water. they poured water on them to keep them warm and dug in the sand to help them breathe. the procedures were able to save about 46 of the 70 stranded whales. so member of the russian orthodox church took a dip in freezing water to celebrate one of their faith's biggest holidays. despite sub-zero temperatures, parishioners in moscow plunged into a frozen river, dipping themselves three times in the icy water. it signifies the baptism of jesus. participants believe the quick plunge washes away all of your sins. >> that's the way to do it, the stairs. >> yeah. >> i would do it with the

stairs. >> right. if they -- maybe tomorrow in the hudson river, if there were stairs. >> i'm not seeing my feet in the hudson. >> i know, right? it is time for a look ahead and look back. today is a federal holiday marking martin luther king jr. day. there will be a wreath laying at the mlk memorial in washington, d.c. to remember the slain civil rights leader. ronald reagan announced the end of the iran hostage crisis as covered by nbc news. >> some 30 minutes ago, the planes bearing our prisoners left iranian air space and are now free. happy birthday to joan rivers daughter melissa, 46. actor reign wilson of "the office" turns 48. buzz aldrin is 84. keep it here for more news, weather and sports. i'm veronica de la cruz. thank you for watching "early today." have a terrific mlk.

the bay area. the quest for six will have to wait a year as the team's dreams of another super bowl title cut short by the seahawks. the loss not without drama on and off the field. >> that's result you're going to get. don'ts you ever talk about me. >> the post game rant landing a former stanford grad in the hot seat. why michael crabtree has to say about it. >> a live look outside. it's monday, january 20th, and this is "today in the bay." good morning. good morning