good thursday morning. coming up on "early today," toothpaste bomb. new information from the department of homeland security warning that terrorists may smuggle explosives on to russian bound planes using toothpaste tubes. olympic start. today the winter games begin, whether russia is ready or not. we'll take you live to sochi. heroin connection. plus, american idol to the halls of congress? clay aiken throws his hat into the ring. and jay prepares for his final bou bow on "the tonight show." it is thursday, february 6th. "early today" starts right now.

> good morning, everyone. i'm alex witt. the first day of the sochi olympic games is marked by a disturbing new terror threat. the feds warning terrorists could try to smuggle explosives on to planes inside toothpaste tubes. u.s. officials emphasize the warning is focused entirely on flights to russia, not on flights to or within the u.s. those familiar with the advisory tell nbc news, it is based on very recent intelligence. there is no word so far on any plans to impose new restrictions on checked bags or carry-ones. the russians have already banned all liquids from carry-ones. u.s. officials say there is no indication of any specific plot or target. instead, this is an exercise of caution, and officials did not reveal the source of the intelligence. meanwhile, the u.s. navy warship taylor entered the black sea. defense officials tell nbc news it will join the u.s. command ship mt. whitney. both will remain on stand by during the games and offer

assistance if athletes are forced to evacuate. all eyes on sochi where today is makes its world debut as an olympic host. there are questions if the city is actually prepared. nbc's kevin tibbles is live in sochi with a good morning to you, kevin. is it ready for its close-up? >> reporter: i think preparedness is all in the eye of the beholder. the events here are all ready, the venues are all ready. behind me, the olympic stadium that will be teeming with people tomorrow night for the opening ceremonies. all of that is ready and they've been reversing all week. those sorts of things, the curling will go on, speedskati g speedskating. up in the mountains, certain preliminary events are already taking place. so in terms of the olympic games, i would go so far as to say sochi appears to be ready. now, if you happen to be a construction aficionado, you would come up with a different answer because there are numerous complaints from many in the foreign press corps about

the preparedness of their hotel rooms, as to whether or not they have heat or running water or the color of that running water. those sorts of things. some people have been making complaints about that. but in terms of the actual olympic venues themselves, i've noticed volunteers are streaming in and out, happy volunteers saying hi to you in russian and everything else. it is very warm in here. it is also very warm. it is going to be about 50 degrees out here today. in terms of that, well, the sun is out, alex. >> that's all great. nbc's kevin tibbles, the envy of many us of here in new york for the weather and everything else going on. have a good one. >> see you. this morning an attempt at some yogurt dupe sy. russia is apparently holding up 5,000 single serve containers of chobani yogurt. chuck schumer says it is stranded at the airport. an unusual customs certificate is the culprit. he urged the olympic committee

and the russian ambassador to allow the yogurt through. it is made in new york and is an official sponsor of the u.s. olympic team. texas made the rare move of putting a female inmate to death. suzanne basso was executed for torturing and killing a mentally ill man. she is the 14th woman to be put to death in the u.s. since 1976. witnesses say she brought back tears and made no final statement. in ohio, officials say they will not review their procedures. the state came under scrutiny last month when a prisoner took 26 minutes to die. now the investigation into the death of actor philip seymour hoffman. three of the four people arrested and so far unconnected heroin dealing bust were arraigned. law enforcement forces tell nbc news hoffman's phone number was found on the cell phone of one of the suspected dealers. all three are being kept behind bars until their court date on february 14th. a disturbing new trend on the drug thought to have killed the oscar winner. the dea says the amount of heroin trafficked along the

border with mexico has increased nearly four fold between 2008 and 2012. agents say more than 4,000 pounds are seized every year. meanwhile, detectives are pouring over evidence found in hoffman's apartment and they're looking to a journal kept by hoffman. we don't know what caused his death. more tests are being done after an autopsy report came back inconclusive. last night, broadway dimmed its lights in honor of the fallen star. he starred in "death of a salesman." after a double dose of wint, the northeast is dig out and braking for a weekend of more nasty weather. >> i'm ready to pack up and move somewhere. everybody is getting snow. >> join the club there. snow, freezing rain and ice found in more than 3,000 flights and knocked out power to nearly a million customers. adding to the region's winter woes, new york and new jersey's supply of rock salt is low. forecaster freeze detective a third round of messy weather is on its way. to that, we go to bill karins

who has our thursday forecast. good morning, bill. >> good morning. such good news for the west. exactly what the doctor ordered. a big drink for california this upcoming weekend. let me show you the national snow pack from the last big winter storm. 64% of the country is covered, you will notice northern california is lacking in the snow. we have a storm system kicking quickly through california this morning. we have rain in areas that haven't seen a lot this year. and going back to last year. san francisco getting a good drefrnling th drenching this morning. los angeles, light rain. this is the appetizer, the big rainstorm comes in. maybe a pineapple express, moisture streaming all the way from hawaii to the west. this is significant rains that are forecasted. mostly over the weekend. we only have about four in san francisco over the last year. we could get three this weekend alone. this is a huge ordeal. we need to build that snow pack and the snow reserves. over the next five days, we could see over a foot of snow in

many of the mountainous areas, higher elevations even more than that. what a great forecast, a break in the weather pattern. today, just be careful driving on the roads with the rain this morning in california. we'll talk more about the big rain event for the weekend coming up. that's a look at alex, i think the skiers, ski resorts, the reservoirs alone, northern california really needed this and they're going to get it finally. >> they sure did. tahoe and man moth should do well. an update on the judging's warni ining over driving drunk.

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so they don't come back. trust resolve. forget stains. welcome back. the texas teen who killed four people in a drunk driving crash and used affluenza as a defense will not be getting any jail time. after defense expert claimed ethan couch's wealthy parents coddled him into a sense of irresponsibility. a texas judge sentenced him to ten years probation, a ruling that was met with anger and frustration. couch was driving with a blood alcohol count three times the legal limit when he killed four people in the june 2013 car crash. buck mckeon and mack thorn bury spoke about the detail of the damage done to the u.s. by edward snowden. >> no matter what the opinion, the american people hold of the nsa's data collection programs, they would be shocked and outraged to learn that a substantial amount of the

information has nothing to do with the nsa. the damage he has done to our military and national defense programs is not the mark of a whistle-blower. he's given our enemies an edge, and put our war fighters at risk. >> a high speed police chase this north carolina came to a dramatic end when the suspect crashed into two other cars before coming to a stop. he tried to flee was tackled to the ground by police you see there. a gun and various drugs found in his car. american idol winner runner-up clay aiken is hoping for your votes if you live in north carolina. he will run as a democrat in the state's heavily republican second district against congresswoman renee ellmers. a new app called name tag is being developed that could allow total strangers to i.d. you along with all of your information. the real time facial recognition app would be used with your google glass camera. for now, google banned the use of facial recognition software. in health news, you might

want to think twice before going for the foot long. subway sandwiches is caving to pressure and stopping use of a controversial chemical. it is a chemical used in their bread and also in yoga mats and shoe soles among other things. an online petition against it collected more than 50,000 signatures but subway says they were already in the process of removing the chemical.ed to ast allergies by the world health organization. well, time to get you down to business. for that, we turn to cnbc's sima modi. good morning, sima. >> good morning. alex. watch shares of twitter today. they fell 18% in after hours trade. the company reporting its first earnings since its ico in november. analysts folking on two key metrics that show user growth may be slowing. coke adds some fizz to green mountain coffee roasters, up 40% in after hours trade. the company is buying 10% of the maker of those k-cup coffee

machines, which is launching a cool drink maker that will feature coke products. hackers may have broken into target through the heating vents. they managed to access the retailer's servers using a log-in stolen from a heating and air conditioning contractor. the secret service visited the offices of that contractor on wednesday. alex, back to you. >> thank you. just ahead, a hero's welcome for the seahawks. details behind shaun white's decision to drop out of slope style. and the race that brings new meaning to the term vertical challenge. you're watching "early today." this is for you. ♪ [ male announcer ] bob's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack, be sure to talk to your doctor

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this morning on "today," matt lauer is live with bob costas in sochi for a look at the last minute prep and how athletes are preparing for their big moment. and speaking of sochi, the olympics are under way. for first time, team figure skating and snowboarding slope style will debut. snowboarding gold medalist shaun white dropped out of slope style events, focusing on the halfpipe event. in a statement, white said, with the practice runs i have taken, even after course modifications, and watching fellow athletes get hurt, the potential risk of injury is a bit too much for me to gamble my other olympics goals on. but in seattle, 12th man time. 700,000 fans swarmed the streets to celebrate their super bowl champion seahawks. complete with marshawn lynch and a hoodie that reads beast mode,

right there, throwing skittles into the crowd, yum. in this video shot from the crowd, though, lynch sees something he wants. that's a bottle of fireball whiskey, only for the beast. and here they are in the latest cover of sports illustrated. seattle's legion of boom dominating peyton manning and the denver broncos. former major league pitcher curt schilling announced he's been diagnosed with cancer. the news came in the form of a statement and didn't disclose the type of cancer he has. shilling retired in 2009 after playing with five different teams. his wife battled cancer after being diagnosed in 2001. we wish him the best. in college hoops, unranked west virginia tops number 21 oklahoma with 20 seconds left in the second half. aaron harris nailing that three-pointer. tying it up, sends it to ot. another crucial three-pointer in ot there and the mountaineers hold on to win it 91-86. look at them go. number four wichita state still undefeated as they top indiana state 65-58.

they're the first missouri valley conference team to open a season with 24 straight wins since indiana state went 33-0 in '78 with larry byrd. the only other undefeated division one team, my favorite now, syracuse. at the empire state building, the 37th annual run-up race for the women. susie walsh finishing the 86-floor climb in 11:57. it is her fifth time winning that race. and the men? torbon ludwigson, 10:06. congratulations. jay leno is looking forward to some of the new olympic events being held this year. >> 100 meter snow freestyle. and the slip and plunge. this one doesn't seem -- and the frozen long jump. i don't know. >> don't ask. i have no explanation for that.

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♪ we are farmers bum - pa - dum, bum - bum - bum - bum♪ to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap. welcome back. what turned out to be a rainy morning in central california and be careful driving. we have some snow at higher elevations if you go up 80 toward trucky. as far as the forecast, light rain showers heading south. not a lot of rain today, but cloudy skies and damp conditions in l.a. and then into friday this is when we really start to see the

moisture increasing. and as we go into saturday, the same thing. what a forecast. now unfortunately southern california is not going to get the heavy amounts of rain, but we're talking over the next five to seven days, some locations in northern california could pick up to eight inches of precipitation, whether in the form of snow or rain. that's the liquid equivalent. that's going to put just a little dent in the drought and we're heading in the right direction. at least we talk about the towns looking at the water running out if they didn't get rain, this will help the wells and reservoirs a little bit. >> you know how the song goes, it never rains in southern california. >> their water comes from the mountains. let's put it up there. >> thanks, bill. here is the question. how thin is too thin? and that is the question on everyone's mind after tuesday's "biggest loser" finale. the shock was visible on the trainers faces when rachel frederickson unveiled her new body weight on the weight loss show's finale. listen to this. she went from 260 pounds to 105 pounds. that is a transformation some are calling unhealthy.

and troubling. like 60% of her body weight is gone. frederickson says she's proud of how she lost the weight and had the support of the show's medical team. whitney houston's modern new jersey mansion is back on the market after failing to sell for $1.7 million in 2012. it is listed at $1.5 million now. usa network's hit series psych will end in march. a spin-off serieys is reportedly in the work. some are chalking it up to bieber stress, others more serious matters. selena gomez is saying she had a secret stint at a rehab center in january. the singer's rep says gomez voluntarily spent time at the rehab center, but not for substance abuse. this story is not a joke. george zimmerman, acquitted in the shooting death of trayvon martin, is looking to step into the boxing ring. and while no contract has been signed, a boxing promoter is negotiating with rapper dmx to fill out that dance card. he says he'll, quote, break

every rule in boxing to beat zimmerman. and in honor of jay leno's last day as tonight show host, l.a.'s disney building lit up to read, thanks, jay. that's really nice, bill, to have that. that's right across the street from nbc there. disney channel building. he can see that. >> when you cross over, you appreciate someone, great legacy, great career. >> you're right. >> i'm sad now about jay. it didn't hit me until now it is official. >> absolutely, the end of an era. we wish him well. you know he'll do something. he's not going dark. >> stand-up, he loves it. >> we'll have to see that. well, i'm alex witt. this is "early today." we hope it is just your first stop of the day here on nbc. [ woman #1 ] why do i cook? because an empty pan is a blank canvas. [ woman #2 ] to share a moment. [ woman #3 ] to travel the world without leaving home.

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leading the news, in the boston globe, scott brown rents out auto mail list to spammer. a marketing pitch containing a note from the former senator was blasted from his e-mail account to thousands of supporters. he abruptly cut ties with the company. in the washington post, new surveillance technology can track everyone in an area for several hours at a time. reports say the airplane mounted cameras have been used to help solve crimes, but the technology has privacy advocates worried about a surveillance state. some stories you may have missed, a proposal to make it legal for 12-year-olds to fire handguns has reportedly cleared its first hurdle in the iowa house. under current state law, you must be 14 to fire a handgun. the proposal would allow kids as young as 12 to do so with adult supervision for things like target practice.

caught on tape. florida officials are looking for an inmate who bolted from the orange county jail while still in handcuffs. 32-year-old willie hollis was at the jail for a probation hearing on monday but was handcuffed and put in a holding area when a deputy found he was a habitual traffic offend and not allowed to drive. and that's when he made the brazen getaway. and dramatic video of a spanish ship breaking up after hitting a seawall off the coast of france. two helicopters had to lift a dozen crew members to safety, but thankfully no one was hurt. and in japan, watch out. it is a runaway gorilla. just kidding. only a drill. at a zoo in tokyo, a staff member dressed up in a gorilla costume as zoo workers practiced containing the bozo beast with nets. the zoo holds animal escape drills like this every two years. in the past, they simulated a runaway rhino and a tiger. hmm. tiger? rhino? runaway? >> they do the drill every two years. i don't know how effective it

is. >> okay. it is time for a look ahead and a look back. jay leno leaves the tonight show after 22 year and 4,610 shows. wow. the most ever. leno will be succeeded by jimmy fallon. on this day in 1985, president ronald reagan's state of the union address included the reagan doctrine, supporting international freedom fighters as covered by nbc news. >> tonight, we declare anew to our fellow citizens of the world, freedom is not the sole prerogative of the chosen few. it is the universal right of all god's children. >> this was also president reagan's birthday, born on february 6th, 1911. and celebrating birthdays today, gunsen rosses singer axle rose is 52. natalie cole turns 64. and our own nbc news tom brokaw is 74. happy birthday to all. keep it here for more news, weather and sports. i'm alex witt. have a great day, everyone.

here is a welcome sight. heavy rain falling across the bay area. this is just the beginning. more wet weather is headed this way. good morning everyone. it's 4:30. i'm scott mcgrew. >> such a great thing. i'm laura garcia-cannon. our weather advisory is in effect around the bay area this morning. and we have team in place to help you get around this wet mess. christina loren will tell us how long this will last. let's start with christie smith. she is bearing down this morning live out there along the elements on the san mateo bridge. what's it like out there? >> reporter: good morning to you. i have to tell you, t