breaking news. american paul whelan held by the russians for alleged espionage is in a moscow courtroom this very morning. we'll have the latest. severely low temperatures will greet millions today as the dangerous winter weather is to blame for multiple lives lost, including a 12-year-old girl who died in a collapsed snow fort. day 32 airports, lines are growing as unpaid tsa workers are calling out in ever growing numbers, forcing officials to call in backup workers normally used in natural disasters. look familiar? police are asking for your help in tracking down a so-called traveling bandit. he's hit seven banks covering six states in less than a month. plus serena williams just did something to remind us why

she is the greatest tennis player of all time. "early today" starts right now. good tuesday morning. i'm phillip mena. >> i'm frances rivera. here is a story that's drawn international attention. a michigan man expected to facing espionage charges after russian authorities accused him of working as appea judge for a bail hearing. whelan flew to moscow in late december and was attending the wedding of a fellow former service member when he was arrested. nbc's lucy kov nafanov joins ush the latest. will whelan be able to come home anytime soon? >> quite the opposite actually. the judge is expected to extend paul whelan's arrest. his family is preparing for a long and drawn out case, at least two or more years, they say. they've been raising funds through a gofundme page because the legal bills are expected to skyrocket. this is not a trial to determine whether paul whelan is guilty or innocent of the espionage charges.

they haven't said exactly what he's accused of doing, but if he's convicted, that could keep him in prison between 10 and 20 years. that's a very long sentence. whelan's appearance in court is to see whether or not he can be released on bail or whether he'll have to remain in the prison where he's spent the past three weeks. we do expect a u.s. embassy representative to attend the public portions of this hearing. and while four countries, the u.s., ireland, canada, and the united kingdom all claim paul whelan as a citizen, only diplomatic corps from the u.s. and ireland from seen him so far. o millions of americans are still reeling from a major winter storm and bone-chilling temperatures. a chicago suburb is in mourning after a 12-year-old girl playing in the snow died sunday afternoon. she was found beneath a collapsed snow fort with a 9-year-old who survived. firefighters north of new york city rescued an elderly bedridden woman after a fire broke out in her home. authorities say the windy,

below-freezing temperatures made it difficult to put out the flames, but they were able to bring the 80-year-old woman outside safely. temperatures throughout the northeast were more than 20 degrees below normal monday, and some areas experienced wind gusts of up to 40 miles an hour. it was so cold out that ice dunes formed along the coastline of lake erie in pennsylvania where waves brought large chunks of ice to shore. park rangers warn that anyone who tries to walk on those dunes may fall through. yet another twist this morning in the russia investigation. the president's personal lawyer, rudy giuliani, is now walking ba c aut a suggesting negotiations were still taking place well into th the latest from d.c. >> reporter: remember, frances, the central question here is during the campaign, was president trump, his family, or his company working with russia, doing any business with russia? he repeatedly said no. his former attorney, michael

cohen, said things wrapped up early in january, then admitted he lied to congress, and they were still working on it through the summer. then rudy giuliani went further and added this. >> well, it's our understanding that they went on throughout 2016. there weren't a lot of them, but there were conversations. i can't be sure the exact dates, but the president can remember having conversations with him about it. >> throughout 2016? >> yeah, probably up to -- could be up to as far as october, november. our answersoverntil the antdifference, and it's further than anyone would the campaign had gone before. so now giuliani is changing his story. take a lookatents were hypothetd not based on conversations i with the president. my comments did not represent the actual timing or circumstances of any such discussions. we're also here in washington

following the shutdown. the latest on that. the offer that president trump made over the weekend will come up for a vote sometime this week, the senate says. but without seven democrats onboard, that offer to exchange protection for a million immigrants in exchange for money for the border wall likely to go nowhere. frances? >> all right. back to square one again. tracie, thank you. speaking of the government shutdown, it is now entering its fifth week, and the tsa is having to call in reinforcements. this holiday weekend, the agency reported a record number of employees calling outga gutierr gutierrez in atlanta where after lines like these last week, the tsa is now calling for backup. around the country,ald off work sunday compared to just 3% on the same day last year. in miami, tsa officer andrew >> reporter: the tsa is starting to see staffing issues at these large airports, at several, including atlanta, newark, and

new york's laguardia, the agency is calling in national deployment officers who typically help during national disaster. >> i showed up and another lead showed up, and only three officers showedan on that shift supposed to have at maximum, give or take 16 officers. >> reporter: a tsa spokesman says this is uncharted territory, and with increased callouts, citing financial hardship, this could have a compounding affect and force contingency plans at airports nationwide. meanwhile throughout the country and across social media, strong support for the federal workers. >> you guys are family to me. >> these workers, man, this is ridiculous. >> reporter: still, despite the callouts, the ss 93% of passengers waited less than 15 . here in atlanta, the airport is bracing for a surge in visitors when the city hosts the super bowl in less than two weeks. phillip? >> gabe, thank you. meantime, we're learning of more people trying to provide

some relief to furloughed federal workers. record jon bon jovi's restaurant is offering free meals to impacted government employees and their family wednesday from noon to 2:00 p.m. the workers can also take in a show at the new york metropolitan opera house. the met is offering a pair of free tickets to people with government i.d.s from saturday through the end of the month. and new york city restaurants are also doing their part. melba's kitchen in harlem is giving out free meals today from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. federal employees can also go to the barclays center where there is a pop-up sight from noon until 3:00 today. food bank staff will help connect workers with resources in their own neighborhoods. this weekend's nfl playoff games brought high stakes drama that didn't end with the final whistle. in the saints versus the rams game, one play in particular is prompting the nfl to consider a rare rule change. nbc's morgan chesky on that controversial call that wasn't.

>> reporter: tie game, not even two minutes left. the saints about to punch their ticket to the super bowl. instead -- >> the crowd's gone crazy as there's no flag. >> reporter: a punch in the gut. the rams' defender hitting the saints' receiver illegally. the penalty flag for pass interference nowhere to be found. the play not reviewable on instant replay due to nfl rules. >> it's frustrating, you know, just getting off the phone with the league office. they blew the call. for a call like that not to be made, man, it's just hard to swallow. >> reporter: even the rams defender admitted the penalty telling reporters, hell, yeah, that was p.i. nbc sports citing a source close to the league says the nfl will explore using instant replay to review pass interference. >> this is the thing that the nfl be used on interference just as if passed, instant replay could easily as a fumble or a player running out of bounds.

since 1999, only a third of all reviewed plays have been overturned. but with a trip to the bowl on the line, the saints wish this call had gotten a second look. morgan chesky, nbc news. >> let's see if that changes things. >> it could change history, the history of football. they've got to do something about it. we have the technology. we should do something about it. so our next winter storm is already on the way. we have blizzard warnings in areas of kansas and a little in colorado. winter storm warnings from casper to cheyenne. let's talk about snowfall totals. this is over the next 48 hours. a good plowable three to six inches from lincoln to des moines, ames, cedar rapids, madison, milwaukee, green bay included and the northern michigan. we're not going to get a lot of winter weather in areas of northeast. it's cold, but most of this is actually going to be rain. it's going toarm w our

battleground is between the rain in missouri and the snow and the ice to the north. we'll talk about those high temperatures coming up. they're going to return to normal in many areas. >> looking forward to that. >> we like normal. >> we do when it comes to that. thank you, bill. some hot wheels news to tell you about. yeah, hot wheels news. the dodge challenger may be going electric. fiat chrysler's new ceo says the beloved muscle car needs to embrace new technology and is promising a revamp by the mid-2020s. >> lincoln said its 2019 continentals have sold out in less than two days at $110,000 each. the vehicle features suicide doors which open toward each other. and ford's first 2019 gt heritage and first 2020 mustang shelby gt 500 models have sold at auction for a combined $3.6 million. proceeds go to charity.

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asking for the public's help to capture a criminal they have dubbed the traveling bandit. he is a white man believed to be in his 40s, and authorities say he has robbed at least seven banks in six states since december. covering more than 3,200 miles. his most recent target, just hasn't said how much the bandit has stolen. so far no one has been injured, but investigators believe the suspect is armed and dangerous. the fbi is looking for any information on his whereabouts. tweeting late last night, president donald trump wrote that the students involved in that viral confrontation with the native american in washington, d.c. were, quote,ly coming face to face with nathan phillips. nbc's ron allen has the latest as the student at the center of it all speaks out. >> reporter: this face to face confrontation igniting charges of racism. kentucky high school students accused of mocking native american elder nathan phillips who claims his drumming was a gesture of peace.

>> i was scared. >> reporter: the junior, nick sandmann at the senator of the controversy is speaking out. he and his classmates who face possible expulsion from covington catholic insist this longer video shows what really happened. >> this is a bunch of future school shooters. >> reporter: the teens say they faced a barrage of verbal abbas from a group calling themselves the black hebrew israelites. sandmann claims they got permission from chaperoneser the hatefu being shouted. >> i things just escalated from there. >> reporter: sandmann claims he singled me out for a confrontation, adding, i did smile at one point because i wanted him to know that i was not going to become angry, intimidated, or be provoked. a kentucky congressman now backing the students, tweeting, in the face of racist and homosexual slurs, the young boys refused to reciprocate or disrespect anyone.

native american advocates say the video speaks for itself. >> he got caught doing something that was incredibly racist and disrespectful, and now he's backpedaling. >> reporter: the school and local diocese have apologized to phillips, a vietnam veteran, as the search for more video and answers continues. ron allen, nbc news. still ahead, celebrating the worst of hollywood and d.c. how the razzies are getting political. and after making a splash on the red carpet, that photo bomber, she finds work. her surprising gig next. a super model in a word, he's complicated his food though is pretty simple he gets blue basics basics is a simple diet made with a single animal protein source, and ingredients you can understand it has no chicken, beef. dairy, soy, or eggs. ideal for dogs with food sensitivities you know who mugsy is...

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it was freezing outside here in new york. hey, you got to be careful out there. if you start feeling symptoms of confusion or memory loss, you're either suffering from hypotherm hypothermia, or you're rudy giuliani. so just be careful. >> brain freeze will get you. >> it sure will, more ways than one, it seems. in the movie industry, we don't just celebrate the best in show. fms also get what's called a razzie. this years nominees got a little political. for worst actor, president donald j. trump in death of a nation. and also fine height 11-9. some of the other nominees include johnny depp, willis. in the worth supporting actress category, kellyanne conway and melania trump, joined by marcia day harden, kelly preston, and also jaz sinclair. the worst picture nominees were gotti, the happytime murders,

holmes and watson, robin hood, and winchester. >> i have a feeling the president would be upset if he doesn't win. >> even this. >> i'm still surprised to see a watson movie on there because john c. reilly and will ferrell, stepbrothers was so good. >> can't beat tal adegas nights. the name of pepsi's line of sparkling waters is getting a makeover during the super bowl all thanks to michael >> in this bubbly commercial, buble is on a one-man mission to correct the spelling and pronunciation of the drink. the full 30-second ad will air february 3rd during the super bowl. those are the favorite part for a lot of people, to watch the commercials. >> you know what? i'm happy for michael buble. he's been through a lot with his son getting cancer. a girl who stole the show at

this year's golden globes by photo bombing celebs on the red carpet is headed to hollywood. remember kelleth cuthbert? she's headed from behind the scenes to in front of the camera. she landed a gig on the soap opera the bold and the beautiful. cuthbert made the announcement on instagram. no official word when that episode will air. >> how appropriate is that? on that night she was bold and beautiful. got her the job. here we go. just ahead, details on why soccer legend crist ano ronaldo is due to stand before a judge today. we'll tell you more when "early today" returns. it'll hurt to sit. and laugh. 'cause that workout, is working. feed it, with special k with iron, protein and b vitamins. feed your progress. feed your power.

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welcome back. we still have windchill warnings in effect. negative 18 right now in northern vermont, but theincinc. it's amazing to say 2 and 3 is not that bad. warming things up. back to normal in the ohio valley today. on the east coast, instead of 20 degrees below, 5 to about 10 below normalm normal. a big warm-up on wednesday. we're going to hit 50 degrees in d.c. the back side of this next storm very cold, all the way down to houston, only a high of 48. later this week, winter makes a big return. chicago's high will only be 5 degrees on friday. it's the next arctic blast heading in. still ahead, serena williams takes down the world's number one player at the australian open. you're watching "early today."

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fast forwarding today to wait to find out who might take home an oscar this year is almost over. ahead of the ceremony on february 24th. the l.a. teachers strike is set to continue into its second te on any deal. soccer star cristiano ronaldo isxpguilty to tax fracu receiveence a the agreement will cost him over $21 million in fines. hundreds came together in new york to honor the legacy of the man who defined self-lessness. over 1,000 volunteers joined city year new york for a day of service monday painting and

beautifying two schools in the bronx to pay tribute to dr. martin luther king jr. employees from season and nbc helped lend a hand as well as wnba legend and two-time olympic gold medalist swin cash. they joined volunteers to paint murals throughout the schools. the gesture overwhelming principal andrea cypress. >> our kids need inspiration. they need passion, and that's exactly what's happening here in this school today. >> city year new york has wor a these core mrssily recognized wd jackets and know that person is someone they can trust and who year new york by visiting city year.org/new york and using the hashtag #i love cyny on social

media. powerhouse serena williams isn't slowing down. ranked 16 in the australian open beat the number one ranked simona halep at that event on monday. she scored a 6-1 in the first set and then halep won the second set before williams took the decisive match, 6-4. williams now goes head to head against karolina pliskova, and dail on this tuesday, rapper logic turns 29. also os kerwining actressia lane is 54. exorcist actress linda and former journey front man steve perry celebrates the big seven-zero. >> don't stop believing. thanks for waking up with us. i'm phillip mena. >> i'm frances rivera. your news continues right here your news continues right here on nbc and our nbc stations.

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take a look, picturesque beauty there of san francisco. 4:30 for you right now. thank you for starting your morning here with us on "today in the bay." i'm marcus washington. >> and i'm laura garcia. we'll get to the morning commute, mike is back. >> yes. >> welcome. >> thank you. >> kari is here as well, look at the cold weather out there. >> it is really cold this morning, as you get ready to head out and lookrning. headed toward concord we'll dip down to the lower 40s starting out this mng