good tuesday morning. coming up on "early today," black widows. russian security officials are searching for suspected female suicide bombers that could attack at the olympics. winter plunge. major snow and frigid temperatures ahead. bill karins tells us how many tens of millions to be affect. embattled governor. new jersey's chris christie gets sworn in for a second term. a shooter remains at large as a college student fightses to for his life. is pope francis about to lighten up on reforms for the catholic church. the glowing halo effect of the sun dog. it is tuesday, january 21st. "early today" starts right now.

and good morning to you. i'm richard lui. we begin with a widening terror threat ahead of the olympic games in sochi. the search is on right now for as many as four so-called black widows. female suicide bombers that may be assigned to carry out attacks at the olympics. and two male suspects possibly planning attacks somewhere in southern russia. you see their pictures there. u.s. commanders in the area are preparing to help the russians with their security preparations if requested. u.s. air and naval assistance including two naval ships in the black sea will be available if evacuations are necessary. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel has more. >> reporter: at the sochi airport, travelers were closely watched as russian security forces search for as many as four women suspected suicide bombers who may be planning an attack on the olympics. one of them, who may have

already made it into sochi, is 22-year-old ruzanna ibragimova. police distributed wanted posters. ruzanna is a so-called black widow. she reportedly got that scar by a raid by russian forces last year. her husband was killed. all this follows the threat from the grave, two men in a video claiming they're preparing to carry out last month's suicide attack in volgograd and warning of attacks on the olympics to come. they, like ruzanna, come from dagestan, the heart of russia's islamic insurgency. we recently visited dagestan, a poor muslim republic, where many hate vladimir putin and want independence from russia. u.s. officials complain they're not getting enough security cooperation from russia. specifically they worry sochi doesn't have the infrastructure in place, the roads, the hospitals, to manage a crisis should one occur. richard engel, nbc news, moscow.

and it is back. a deep freeze setting its sights on the midwest and the northeast. snow, ice and more bone chilling temperatures on the way. and what that means, well, travel woes for the entire country. at least 1800 flights already canceled today, according to flight aware.com. the frigid air brings another threat. fuel shortages as people try to keep warm. more than a dozen states have emergency declarations in place, because of a shortage of propane gas. nbc's tracie potts is in washington. as it gets so cold, folks got to keep warm and the question is how they're handling this. >> reporter: well, people who are seeing their bills double since last year, some of them tell us they're closing the doors upstairs to try to force the heat downstairs and not heat the entire house. the federal government declared a home heating fuel emergency, which covers 23 states, plus d.c. what that does is relax the rules for drivers of propane trucks so they can get that propane where it needs to be. the problem is it has been so cold for so long, people are running out of fuel, much

earlier in the season than expected. plus in the midwest, they started out with less fuel. so that's causing complications as well. in some areas, companies say they're limiting how much they'll sell to any individual. they're filling customers' tanks at half to try to get that to last, try to spread it out. some companies tell us they're seeing more applications for home heating assistance, low income families who simply can't afford these bills that continue to grow. across the midwest and the northeast, there are some 7 million homes and businesses that are heated by propane. so it is going to be a problem, especially with this colder weather coming in. >> thank you so much, tracie potts, there in washington, d.c., watching that for us. nbc's bill karins, our meteorologist, will have more on the winter blast in a few moments. stick around for that. today, new jersey governor chris christie officially beginning his second term in a slew of allegations from his first term will follow him. the latest is a case of she said/she said involving

christie's top lieutenant and small town mayor with a big accusation. kelly o'donnell has more. >> reporter: new jersey's lieutenant governor kim guadagno joined volunteers at a hurricane sandy rebuilding event. and she hammered at a new political crisis. >> this suggestion that anyone would hold back sandy relief funds for any reason is wholly and completely false. >> reporter: that allegation comes from hoe poboken mayor democrat dawn zimmer who went on television this weekend and met with the u.s. attorneys' office. zimmer claims last may, the lieutenant governor and another top official richard constable seen with the governor just last week both told her relief funds would be held up unless zimmer backed a major commercial development. >> she said, i know it's not right, i know this thing should not be connected but they are. and if you tell anyone, i'll deny it. >> reporter: guadagno

acknowledged a conversation, but -- >> i am very surprised by the mayor's allegations. and i deny whole heartedly those allegations. >> reporter: constable calls zimmer's allegations patently false and absurd. the lieutenant governor would not take questions, citing pending investigations. why would she make these allegations, lieutenant governor? zimmer said she's genuinely disappointed in guadagno's response but stands by her word. zimmer says hoboken only received $342,000, directly from the state. christie recovery official said the administration helped deliver $70 million in mostly federal aid to hoboken's residents and businesses. >> i'm scratching my head a little bit about, you know, any community that's getting the short end of the stick. >> reporter: zimmer had requested an additional $95 million to prevent future storm damage. not sandy relief. the administration says that is about one-third of what's

available for the whole state. >> that was nbc's kelly o'donnell reporting for us. now to the cause of a deadly plant explosion in omaha, nebraska. still unknown. two people were killed inside the animal feed plant on monday morning. ten were hospitalized with significant injuries. the second and third floors collapsing there. firefighters used the jaws of life to rescue one person from the concrete and steel. >> our initial crews performed with incredible bravery. they did a tremendous job and i'm grateful for what they did today. >> severe weather halted the recovery operation overnight. but it will resume this morning. some stunning video has surfaced that will surely chill you to the bone. a skier carving his way down the slopes, near denver, looks okay, on saturday, when he triggered an avalanche. now, the skier was wearing a helmet mounted camera that recorded the entire ordeal, as you see there. showing snow whipping all around as the terrain split beneath him. fortunately he was able to dig out of the pile of snow and

escape. what officials are now calling a medium-sized avalanche. bill karins watching that with us. are you a skier? >> yeah, but i would never go back country. scared of the avalanches. >> you do some steeps and you're scared about something small getting -- >> that's very fortunate. but we got a lot of cold weather to talk about here. >> just none of it going to the west. it is all over -- the cold air is in the central and the snow in the east. i would love to give you a snow forecast for the mountains and the west, that's where we need it, but this is the big cities of i-95 and more snow than the sierra mountains, believe that. boston today, all the way to new york, philly and d.c., about 6 to 10 inches of snow. a thousand flights canceled because of the snowstorm in that region. so, again, huge travel issues on the east side of the country. for west, yesterday was another day, we tied the record high. san francisco, like seven of the last nine days in san francisco in either the airport or downtown we have tied a record high, incredible stuff.

over the last ten -- next ten days, we continue to watch the forecast. there is at least a hint of some rain coming from northern california at the end of the month and maybe a little bit in the mountains, not so much central and southern, but at least maybe it is a start. >> well, there is snow in a few places. ski resorts have been making it. colorado having a little fun in the snow yesterday. we call this the cowboy rodeo. and these are literally the cowboys. these are the actual cowboys on the rodeo circuit and they know how to have fun and they're not exactly afraid of falling earning, whi either, which makes it a little bit better. >> the commercials and a lot of the print ads have a picture of somebody with a cowboy scheme.

very good cowboy skiers. >> i know. impressed. an idea to pay down the college debt. is iran's economy about to get billions. an american held hostage in north korea speaks out. you're watching "early today." [ male announcer ] walgreens understands being at the corner of "looking for a good deal" and "sheesh, i should've looked some more." ♪ that's why walgreens makes it easy to save even more on your medicare part d prescriptions. ♪ just stop on by and leave all the legwork to us. switch to walgreens today where you could save with copays as low as zero dollars on select medicare part d plans. at the corner of happy and healthy. and better is so easy withrning you cabenefiber.o something better for yourself. fiber that's taste-free, grit-free and dissolves completely. so you can feel free to add it to anything. and feel better about doing it. better it with benefiber.

[ female announcer ] only aveeno daily moisturizing lotion has an active naturals oat formula that creates a moisture reserve so skin can replenish itself. aveeno® naturally beautiful results. aveeno® we've crafted our power bowls to help you power your day. start with protein-packed egg whites and savory roasted turkey for breakfast. or power up your lunch with antibiotic-free chicken and our flavorful cilantro jalapeno hummus. power bowls from panera bread - power up today. [ male announcer ] the rhythm of life. [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that beat? campbell's healthy request soup lets you hear it in your heart. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy. [ m'm... ] great taste. [ tapping ] sounds good. campbell's healthy request. m'm! m'm! good.® before mike could see his banking and investing accounts on one page... before he could easily transfer funds between the two in real time... before he could even think about planning for his daughters' future...

mike opened a merrill edge investment account and linked it to his bank of america bank account to help free up plenty of time for the here and now. that's the wonder of streamlined connections. that's merrill edge and bank of america. welcome back. a student at pennsylvania's widener university is in surgery after being shot by an unknown assailant on campus. the campus was on lockdown until 6:00 a.m. this morning and they do not believe the shooter is on campus. a spokesman for the school says this does not appear to be a random act of violence. crippling economic sanctions against iran are lifting as the country stales back its nuclear program. the loosened sanctions will allow iran access to billions of dollars that were frozen, and also allow the country to export oil and trade in gold. iran must continue to be transparent about their nuclear programs. kenneth bae, the u.s.

citizen held in north korea for more than a year, appeared on camera on monday. there he is. he delivered a plea for help from the u.s. government. in his preapproved statement, bae said he committed acts against the north korean government for which he is serving a sentence of 15 years hard labor. an atmospheric phenomenon known as a sun dog appeared in moscow over the weekend. the glowing halo effect is caused by light refracting through ice crystals. the sun dog. there it is. now for business, we turn to cnbc's jackie deangelis. good morning, jackie. >> reporter: good morning, richard. police in texas arresting a mexican couple at the border allegedly carrying credit cards with account information from the data breach at target. however, one federal authority with knowledge of the case saying the arrests aren't connected to the target investigation. union members are opposing the u.s. postal service's decision to open retail centers at staples stores. they're threatening a boycott as the centers will be staffed by

staples employees and not u.s. postal workers. verizon launching a new version of its share everything plan, a $20 cheaper than at $60 a month. but the plan coming with 250 megabytes of data which verizon is aimed at people who use that very basic type of cell phone. that's it for us here at cnbc. back to you. >> use the basic cell phone and people chastise them. making fun of them, thank you, jackie. one senior selling space on his graduation cap to help pay off his 30 grand in college debt. right now, university of michigan student alex banda has raised about 1600 bucks by selling one by one inch squares on his mortar board. 101 days to go. hope he graduates. sports is just ahead including a college basketball upset and sour grapes served on ice. we'll tell you which parts of nfl football could soon be going away. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. yeah.

everybody knows that. did you know there is an oldest trick in the book? what? trick number one. look-est over there. ha ha. made-est thou look. so end-eth the trick. hey.... yes.... geico. fifteen minutes could save you... well, you know. all the goodness of milk, all the deliciousness of hershey's syrup. with thermacare heatwraps.

thermacare works differently. it's the only wrap with patented heat cells that penetrate deep to relieve pain and accelerate healing. get pain relief that heals with thermacare. natural energy from tea packed with real juice from delicious fruits and veggies. it's what you need for that extra boost! oh and did we mention it's only 50 calories? need a lift? could've had a v8. in the juice aisle.

this morning on "today," from the track to the snow. two-time summer olympian lolo jones talks about her transition to bobsled on the road to sochi. go, lolo. to sports, one of the laws of nature, the rule of threes raining upon villanova. creighton had 21 three-pointers. ethan raggy alone had nine,

tying a school record. his teammates said he did better in practice, if you can believe that. creighton crunches number four ranked villanova, 96-68. lakers and bulls, less than one second less in overtime. gibson does his shot, beats the buzzer. the replay says, watch this very carefully, uh-huh, it says, yes, the bulls edge the lakers 102-100. there it is. the nfl commissioner wants the point after touchdown to be reconsidered. this season only five attempts were missed for instance. seattle cornerback richard sherman saved the game with his pass deflection. his boast after that play of being the best has stirred some controversy. you heard that, right? sherman now saying, flash texting, quote, i apologize for attacking an individual and taking attention away from the fantastic game by my teammates. that was not my intent.

wonder what crabtree thinks from the 49ers. how mad was he? so mad vancouver's nhl coach gets up from the rink and b-lines it to his opponent's locker room. there he is. it was after players brawled saturday. the nhl called him in. he gets a 15-day suspension and will miss six games. thanks to $110,000 in crowd funding, the two-man jamaican bobsled team is headed to the olympics. they trained in the u.s. and much of the money came from u.s. addressed credit cards. a lot of fans here in the u.s. the russian speedskater finishes first in the warmup, but, wait, watch this, is that the middle finger from the second place dutch player? jimmy fallon, what do you think? >> have a look at this photo, yeah, that's -- that's called killing one stone with two birds. early today sports is brought to you by new just for men auto stop. gray is over. and just ahead, why wendy williams has an on air

breakdown. plus, it is confirmed, 50 years after the british invasion, paul and ringo plan to reunite. details next. no matter how busy your morning you can always do something better for yourself. and better is so easy with benefiber. fiber that's taste-free, grit-free and dissolves completely. so you can feel free to add it to anything. and feel better about doing it. better it with benefiber. we really you know? take a relaxingjust to unwind.a. but we can only afford one trip this year,

and his high school reunion is coming up in seattle. everyone's going. then we heard about hotwire... and realized we could actually afford to take both trips. [woman] see, when really nice hotels have unsold rooms, they use hotwire to fill them. so we got our 4-star hotels for half price. i should have been voted "most likely to travel." ♪ h-o-t-w-i-r-e ♪ hotwire.com book with our app for an additional... $25.00 off your next hotel. lactaid® is 100% real milk? right. real milk. but it won't cause me discomfort. exactly, because it's milk without the lactose. and it tastes? it's real milk! come on, would i lie about this? [ female announcer ] lactaid. 100% real milk. no discomfort. to prove the skeptics wrong. so jonathan, you participated in a focus group where you said, and i quote "i think febreze fresheners just mask the odor." bring us the smelliest thing you can find in your home. oh yeah. ♪ yes. this is febreze free. it has no perfume. it's completely gone. i don't smell something that's covering up.

did we prove you wrong? i think you did prove me wrong. [ male announcer ] odor elimination without masking. the proof is in every bottle of febreze fabric refresher. breathe happy. [prof. burke] at farmers,we make of febryou smarter efresher. [bell rings] about your insurance,because what you don't know can hurt you. what if you didn't know that home insurance can keep your stuff covered,even when it's not at home? or that collisions with wildlife on the road may not be covered. and what if you didn't know that you could be liable for any accidents on your property? the more you know,the better you can plan for what's ahead. talk to farmers and get smarter about your insurance. ♪ we are farmers bum - pa - dum, bum - bum - bum - bum♪ well, welcome back. another warm day in alaska. another storm coming up from the south bringing some rain and snow mixture to the region. temperatures are mild, though. average high this time of year in fairbanks is 1 degree. you're 25 right now in the middle of the night. anchorage, 32.

juneau at 36. we're much warmer in alaska than we are throughout much of the central u.s. over the next couple of days. and we're it actually much warmer in areas of montana, 48 degrees today in billings. there is some warm out there. denver at 60. still very warm in the desert southwest. phoenix at 78. northwest, a sprinkle or two. not a lot of rain showers out there. and temperatures do stay on the mild side. >> 40 degrees in billings, they're in their speedos, aren't they? >> montana, that's warm. ringo and paul will be back together again while rumors said the duo would be performing at the grammys, ringo told "access hollywood," they will be recording a performance for a beatles tribute show set to air in february. folks looking forward to that one. wendy williams breaking down in tears on her talk show on monday, when she said her 13-year-old son does not like her. look at that. the gasps from the audience. williams continued saying, quote, it is breaking my heart, but perhaps it is just him being a teenager. the audience trying to cheer her up with some clapping.

and while most thought beyonce performing at michelle obama's 50th birthday would be a good thing. >> of course, beyonce. >> jimmy fallon, he says it might be a down side. take a listen. >> i saw that beyonce performed at michelle obama's 50th birthday party on saturday night. yeah. no better way for a woman to turn 50 than having to spend your party looking at beyonce the whole time. >> we saw some of the pictures. she looks great. >> beyonce in the dress. >> as always. >> yeah. >> maybe it was a gift for everyone else too. >> by the way, the first lady, hey, nothing to worry about. exactly. i'm richard lui. this is "early today." we hope it is just your first stop of the day, right here on nbc. what you wear to bed is your business.

so, if you're sleeping in your contact lenses, ask about the air optix® contacts so breathable they're approved for up to 30 nights of continuous wear. ask your doctor about safety information as serious eye problems may occur. visit airoptix.com for a free one-month trial. chose prego traditional over ragu traditional. prego?! but i buy ragu. [ thinking ] i wonder what other questionable choices i've made. [ pop muzak plays ] [ sigh of relief ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. choose prego.

leading the news in time, syrian peace talks. the u.n. extends and then regrets an invitation to iran. u.n. chief ban ki-moon rescinded his offer under intense u.s. pressure. the syrian opposition also threatened to boycott the talks which are scheduled to take place tomorrow in switzerland. and from reuters, top pope ally urges vatican doctrine chief to loosen up. an influential aid to pope francis criticizing the vatican watchdog, he urges him to be more flexible about reforms being discussed in the roman catholic church. now stories we're watching for you. the supreme court will hear two cases. today, the highest court will revisit if anonymous tips can justify a police -- it raises

questions about the fourth amendment which involves searches and seizures. in a separate case from 14 years ago, they ruled they could not stop and search a team at a bus stop based only on an anonymous tip he had a gun. and tomorrow, the supreme court will hear a case on restitution for victims of child pornography. the man at the center of the case is appealing an order holding him responsible for $3.4 million in losses suffered by his victim. 34 states are urging the court to uphold that ruling. the supreme court will consider if anyone who viewed the victim's images can also be held liable. if you think that flight attendants could afford to loosen up, look no further, my friends. at shanghai airport, 66 flight attendants wowing travelers with a synchronized dance routine. not smiling. i don't know if they enjoyed it. dance styles from martial arts inspired hip-hop, a little something for everyone, evidently. i guess a little more hip-hop. >> i like when they show the beat belt thing and the oxygen

mask. like to spice it up. >> this say littis a little bit different. this is a big holiday there. the lunar new year. like christmas for the u.s. everything shuts down. they're trying to have a good time there. time for a look ahead and a look back. thousands of pages of sexual abuse by priests will be released. cardinal francis george has apologized for the records being revealed that show how the church responded. on this day in 1978, the soundtrack of the film saturday night fever featuring the bee gees hit number one on the album. album charts, where it stayed for six months making it one of the best-selling soundtracks in history. ♪ happy birthday to hakeem olajuwon, 51. geena davis, 58, jack nicklaus, 74. i'm richard lui with bill karins. have a great tuesday.

good morning to you. i'm scott mcgrew. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. investigators on the scene of an officer involved shooting near east 15th street antds 57th avenue not far from the rainbow recreation center. christie smith has talked with officers. what's going on out there? >> reporter: well, i can tell you there is a large police presence here, more than a dozen police cars from the oakland police department, also the chp. this is east 57th avenue, and east 15th street which is basically right above international boulevard. this is an officer involved shooting that started with a pursuit by the chp a