money. i'm jim cramer, see you tomorrow. it is wednesday, january 20th. coming up on early today. breaking news, terrorists strike a university, reports of almost two dozen killed in pakistan. late details ahead. stumping for trump, sarah palin throws her support behind him. the water crisis in flint, michigan reaches a fevered pitch as the governor faces criticism. tens of millions of americans are in the path of a monster storm. early today starts right now. good morning, everyone we want to begin with breaking news

out of pakistan. a terror attack on students. the taliban is claiming responsibility for the deadly attack at a university in northwest pakistan. about 21 miles outside peshawar. let's go live in london. what can you tell us right now? >> reporter: good morning, the army in pakistan says this operation is now over. the gun battle lasting three hours this morning on the campus of a university in northwestern pakistan. a terrifying morning for students and staff about 20 miles from peshawar. the campus was opening for day when militants scaled the university walls on a foggy morning. shooting security guards and going into classrooms and dorms. one student said he saw a gunman shooting male and female students with automatic weapons. an assistant professor reportedly fired back, giving

some students time to run. tributes are going out to him on twitter this morning. pakistani commandos say they've killed four militants. it's unclear how many gunmen were on the campus. as for who is behind this, there is conflicting information. there's claim of responsibility from a senior taliban commander. the group's official spokesman is strongly condemning the attack calling the killing of students unislamic. at least 19 are dead. 60 are injured. but those numbered could change. back to you. >> kelly, thank you so much. former alaskan governor sarah palin has endorsed donald trump for president. she said trump will bring change as president. adding he has gone rogue a reference to her 2009 memoir. she went on to slam the republican staestablishment for attacking the front runner. the new york daily news keeping

with their recent direct covers isn't holding back in today's papers. the announcement dominated twitter. within five hours of speaking there were 170,000 tweets mentioning sarah palin. katey tur has more. >> reporter: sarah palin made it official, throwing her weight behind donald trump at the expense of ted cruz. and doing it right where it matters most. iowa. there's long been chatter of a palin trump endorsement. their politics overlap. they have similar attention grabbing styles. and they seem to genuinely like each other. back in 2011 at a norvew york pizzeria, trump even left the door open as running as vice president. >> she's a terrific woman.

>> reporter: earlier in the campaign, trump had no kind wurz for senator john mccain. >> he's a war hero because he was captured. i like people that weren't captured. >> reporter: the outsider despiezed by the elite, she could have been a natural fit for cruz. she endorsed his senate run. >> i love sarah palin. sarah palin is fantastic. >> reporter: it spelled bad news for cruz as iowa governor took the texas senator to task for his lack of support for renewable fuels. now with iowa less than two weeks away and polls showing trump neck and neck with cruz. the endorsement could be crucial. less than 24 hours before the announcement, palin's 26-year-old son, track, was

arrested on misdemeanor domestic violence charges. according to court documents he and his girlfriend were fighting for most of the day where he allegedly hit her with a closed fist. he threw her cell phone. he pulled a gun on her, saying, quote, do you think i won't do it. palin was arraigned and released after posting bay. bernie sanders continues his surge against hillary clinton, taking an overwhelming lead in iowa. >> reporter: he's moving up, bernie sanders riding in a spanking new campaign bus in iowa. >> walk around, these comfortable seats. the purpose of this bus is just to help us get around your beautiful state. that's what we're going to do. >> reporter: 13 days to go.

hillary clinton's nightmare scenario. it is competitive. in iowa they have nearly the same number of paid staff. he has spent more on tv ads in iowa and new hampshire. and has spent more time in iowa, 51 days to her 39. by raising money online from small donors his team says they have the money to keep going and warning sign for clinton in new hampshire. a new poll has sanders ahead by 27 points. a huge leap from a four point advantage in our poll last week. what about the fire wall when the campaign moved south? in alabama sanders proved he could attract thousands. here lifeline could be president obama who she's treating like a running meate. 80% of democrats view obama favorably. and tragedy on the campaign trail. one of ben carson's volunteers

in iowa died yesterday after a van hit a patch of ice flipped over and was hit by another car. he died from his injuries. three other passengers in the van were treated and released. ben carson temporarily suspended his campaign on tuesday so he could travel to omaha to meet with the family. the ongoing public health crisis in michigan, the governor is calling a disaster and a mess. in his state of the state address he said the government had failed promising those responsibility would be held accountable. the flint mayor met with president obama. last night on ms nbc michael moore was highly critical of the

governor's response. >> he sent thin national guard last wednesday. i was there tin flint this week. he sent seven national guard. seven. >> moore also urged president obama to visit flint during his trip to detroit this week. other celebrities have let their voices to the criticism. sandra burnheart spread awa awareness efforts. residents will brave the weather to pick up water. t it appears isis fighters are getting a massive pay cut. the islamic state says it is slashing salaries in half. according to leaked documents. that means isis fighters in syria will see their pay drop to about $200 a month.

foreign fighters would get $400. the financial strain is likely a result of air strikes on their infrastructure in syria and iraq. isis confirmed the masked the execution ear jihadi john is dead. the state department is now continuing to search for former fbi agent bob levinson, looe be mitszing in iran. for the first time we are hearing from one of the three americans. nbc's keer simenings simmons reports. >> free after four and a half years. >> this is so surreal and we're gist soaking it in right now. >> relieved and elated. >> i feel alive for the first time. it is like being born again. and i just feel feel proud to be an american.

>> in disbelief as his captors finally told him to pack his things, he landed in switzerland sunday. >> sam pachampagne was popped a >> his training helped him survive i didn't want to let my fellow marines down. >> and he thanked the president, congress and his family for securing his freedom. >> even the iranian officials our captors essentially were amazed and had asked us why is it that they are working so hard for you? and i just said well that is america. >> a third day of lake effect snow caused white out conditions in syracuse new york. tuesday's snowfall was so heavy the plows had a really tough time trying to keep up with it. and more is on the way. oh look at this. this is splendid.

no wonder our producers wanted this shot. this is from washington d.c. a beautiful sky. sunrise happening right now. right before the snow. >> bill karins, how big is this going to be? >> -- a chance of seeing a buffalo or syracuse type knsnow. it could be easily historic for the area. let's break it down. the storm develops here over mississippi and then we'll watch it begin to rapidly spread up through the mid atlantic region. as we go through friday snow breaks from roanoke to washington d.c. especially friday afternoon. friday night full fledged snow storm starts to become a northeaster off the coast saturday morning. then blossoms into a bull blown northeaster. heaviest snow will be in the blue. and could go up to boston but it is really new york city south werds with the bull's eye being maryland, and the higher

terrain. the strong winds into the coast. also have a full moon and that is going to lead to coastal flooding. beech erosion problems. wind gusts could be up to 70 miles per hour: pain even a couple hundred thousand without power in the middle of winter is nothing to sneeze at either. washington d.c., a lot of our computers are hinting at the chance of two feet of snow. the report is 28 and that happened about mountens and the rainfall yesterday morning. temperatures not bad. 50s and 60s. >> so 28 is the lucky number. >> 28 is the highest in d.c. and they have only had two twenty inch snowfalls in the history of the nation's capital.

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welcome back to "early today." the storm causing all the problems this weekend on the east is now moving through idaho, bringing snow through the region. rot of people reports gusty winds also with that overnight. your next storm california will be late thursday and then friday. looks like when that is the west coast's next dose of rain and snow. >> we got to stock up. thank you so much bill. now to entertainment news. the suicide squad trailer promises to do deliver the worst heros ever. bringing supervillains together to save the world. the film hits theaters this summer august 5th. two new stars are speaking out against the all white oscar nominees. academy award winner whoopi goldberg talked about the lack of diversity. >> why is this a conversation that we only have once a year? because every year we get all fired up. and then the rest of the year nobody says anything.

>> also actor george clooney weighed in saying african americans have a real fair point that the industry isn't representing them well enough. >> now i'm working double time just to be seen for who i am and what i'm capable. >> here is a segue. sumplter and sawyer. sawyer playing a young michelle and barack obama. the film southside with you, it's about the family history and the couple's first dated. >> how strange is that? imagine a move about you that came out when you were young. such a weird thing to watch that. >> i they lot of people are interested to know how everything was back in the day. >> may not know. how do you rise to power? >> yeah. i'm sheba russell and this is "early today." does the smell of a freshly bound presentation fill you with optimism? do you love your wireless keyboard more than certain family members? is your success due to a filing system only you understand?

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leading the news on u.s.a. today. nearly 500 thousand foreigners overstayed visas in 2015. collected by the department of homeland security. the study indicates that so called visa overstays represent an estimated 40% of the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the country. from nbcnews.com, pablo escobar's miami beach mansion bites the dust. demolition is well under way. the property owner purchased the home in 2014 for about 9 million bucks. he said he was excited to see the house of the devil disappearing before his eyes. from the associated press

oldest christian monsterry in iraq is raised. the monsterry was reduced to a field of rubble. another target for the islamic state.astery was reduced to a field of rubble. another target for the islamic state. more than a hundred firefighters braved the cold to battle a huge fire in philadelphia. investigators say almost all of the builds units were occupied at the time. fortunately the residents were able to evacuate quickly. two firefighters suffered minor injuries. starting this morning for the next 30 day, five planets will be visible in a celestial quintet at the same time. how cool. mars, mercury, venus, jupiter and sat earn. and alignment hasn't occurred since 2005. >> and the so called sexiest doctor alive is looking for a date but the competition is getting steep. dr. mike is featured in people's

2015 asksiest man alive is raising money for students by offering himself up as a prize. applicants must donate $10 by january 27th to be considered. >> are you buying or selling? >> i'm trying to -- i'm am not buying. not buying. sorry. >> very well done. >> and president obama heads to auto show in detroit. he'll be there check out the latest vehicles. and also will be promoting the recovery of the u.s. auto industry. and we want to send happy birthday wishes to quest love, drummer if for roots and "the tonight show." he turns 45. looking good. and fashion police co-host melissa rivers is 48 and legendary astronaut and moon walker buzz ald ron turns 86. keep it here for more use weather and sports. i'm sheba russell.

yesterday, a gruesome scene on 101--- following a fatal bus crash. today, a deeper dive into what caused it. we'll have th . yesterday was a gruesome scene on 101 following a brute brutal bus crash. the latest on the investigation. >> what role, if any, did fatigue play in the accident t. bus driver said he felt tired. now an exhaustive look into his background. a disheartening conclusion from the coast guard actively searching for two hikers missing in santa cruz. "today in the bay" starts right now. good morning on this wednesday. thank you for joining us. i'm sam brock. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. let's get to the forecast today.