on this martin luther king jr. national holiday, mother nature is delivering a major winter storm, with high winds and heavy snow the fbi revealing more about the man who held a rabbi and others hostage on saturday at a texas synagogue. new cases of omicron and hospitalizations beginning to drop in some states offering hope images of a powerful undersea volcano erupting and the global impact that followed. the message in the bottle that travelled over here years from maryland to ireland, and the people who were touched

along the way. "early today" starts right now good morning i'm philip mena. >> glad you're with us this martin luther king jr. holiday is kicking off with dicey weather for the eastern half of the country. snow and ice slammed into the southeast, send thing tractor trailer off the road in north carolina the driver was okay, but in a separate crash, the state highway patrol says who people were killed when they crashed into a tree. the storm is now pushing north and it leaves behind a dangerous coat of ice. more than 100,000 customers were without power across the southeast overnight. and the conditions turned the charlotte airport into a ghost town nbc's cathy park has more. >> reporter: a dangerous mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain crippling the carolinas. heavy snow burying greenville, a

wintry mess in charlotte >> it's slicker than i thought it would be. >> reporter: and treacherous travel in raleigh. >> it's ice and you can't see it when you do, it's too late it's not worth the risk. >> reporter: spinouts piling up. >> highway patrol advises staying off the road on sunday and monday, if you can >> reporter: at charlotte's airport, nearly all flights grounded the high impact storm knocking out power to tens of thousands in the southeast officials warning that 750,000 customers in north and south carolina could see this extend for days as the icing gets worse. >> we've moved in more than 11,000 resources they're staged strategically throughout the carolinas awaiting the impacts to see where the power outages occur and where they need to respond >> is it going to be non-stop for your views today >> it's been non-stop all week >> reporter: at least four

governors declaring states of emergency. near white-out conditions in arkansas, steady snow in georgia. stores are struggling to keep up with storm demands >> unfortunately, with the supply chain being like it is, we went to order in, and there was nothing there. >> reporter: extreme weather also striking southwest florida. a reported ef-2 tornado leaving behind a path of destruction, destroying dozens of mobile homes near ft. myers >> it happen sod fast, it was unbelievable this came hard and fast. >> reporter: and the storm suspect slowing down up next, the northeast meanwhile, back here in charlotte, the winter weather threat isn't over, with temperatures hovering below freezing, black ice is a big concern. back to you. >> cathy, thank you. janessa webb is tracking this storm for us. good morning, janessa.

>> hi, good morning. this storm system, dual-sided system, we have many concerns this morning still very high impact snowstorm that we're going to be watching. but i want to focus right now, dealing with severe thunderstorm warnings, currently in place for new jersey and you can see it continues to make its way across new york city. that heavy band of rain. the problem is, on top of that rain, we do have an easterly flow, with the winds picking up. that's why the national weather service issued coastal flood concerns and watches across boston down to north carolina. 21 million people impacted by these coastal concerns and then you have the high tide that whether be on top of that so dealing with some beach erosion and definitely some flooding conditions across the coastal area i haven't gotten to the other side of the storm system where we talk about heavy snow we'll look at the totals coming up >> janessa, thank you. earlier today, north korea

launched as many as two rounds of short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast. that's according to south korean officials. the missiles did no damage, and the u.s. army stressed no u.s. personnel, territory nor alley is under a new threat. but this fourth launch this year has raised fears of confrontation. japan in particular condemned the move, and used the occasion to announce that the prime minister will speak with joe biden on the phone this saturday >> >> tensions are brewing along the russian/ukrainian border ukraine remains surrounded by over 100,000 troops. and just this weekend, the country's government web so isit hacked in an interview, senator mitt romney supported the idea of a u.s. backed insurgency in the

event of a russian invasion. >> the ukraine people are proud and know how to fight for their independence and that and other features are going to be affected by virtue of russia's action >> in an interview on cnn, a spokesman for vladamir putin says there is still room for compromise joe biden's voting rights legislation has hida dead end. the bill is set to be brought to a vote this week congressman james clyburn was on meet the press >> people tell me they are for this legislation, but they're against the processes, then i don't think you're on the right side of history. we need to know who is with us, and who is not >> it comes as mr. biden gets ready to mark one year in the

oval office this week. the covid forecast is improving in some parts of the nation the number of daily cases and hospitalizations in chicago, washington, d.c., and new york are seeing some dips as of today, more than 65 million americans have contracted the virus, and more than 854,000 have died and although some parts of the country are seeing bight spots in their fight against the virus, the u.s. surgeon general says during an appearance on cnn that "we are not out of the woods yet" as the next few weeks will betough because omicron cases have not yet peaked. this comes as passengers on a norwegian cruise ship are headed back to new york after the company cancelled a ten-day to the caribbean mid voyage due to covid-19 this as virginia's new governor signed an executive order ending the school mask mandate. >> the fbi has clarified earlier

comments about the texas synagogue siege this weekend, confirming it was, indeed, a terrorism related attack, targeting the jewish community a british man took four people hostage in a texas synagogue after a police raid, he was dead and all the hostages rescued we should note that the pair has not been charged with any crimes >> reporter: the fbi combing the scene near congregation beth israel sip going, where a sgunmn holding four people hostage. >> this was an act of terror >> reporter: investigators i.d.'d the suspect as a 44-year-old national his voice was even heard on a facebook live stream of the

sabbath service. police say akram's demand, relief of a federal prisoner 20 miles away, known as lady al qaeda. and she was convicted in 2010 of attempted murder of u.s. soldiers >> he was focused on one issue, not related to the jewish community. >> reporter: some hours in, he released one hostage unharmed. the rabbi said the gunman became belligerent and threatening as time went by within an hour, this pivotal moment the remaining hostages were released by a fire door, rescued. this video shows three people leaving what appears to be a side door as teams move in, confirming the death minutes later. in a statement, he added, we as a family do not condone his actions and would like to

apologize to all the victims adding his brother was suffering from mental health issues and there was nothing we could have said to him or done that would have convinced him to surrender. authorities credit sitram walker for keeping the situation calm >> when you got the word that everyone made it out okay -- >> yeah, it's, like, a release of tears and anxiety and stress and thankfulness and praise and worry and all of those all at once >> reporter: the rabbi, now back with his family, posting in part, i am grateful we made it out. i am grateful to be alive. >> our thanks to morgan for that report to the nfl playoffs now. the chiefs and steelers crashing in a wild card weekend showdown in kansas city >> pleaded his case to no avail.

williams is now the back he drops it. and a second time and picked up by t.j. watt with the play alive into the end zone he goes. >> t.j. watt put pittsburgh on the board first, only for patrick mahomes to start scoring at will. kansas city beat the steelers in what could be ben roethlisberger's last game k.c. advances to the divisional round and a showdown with the bills, fresh off of their beatdown of the patriots on saturday after their first playoff victory in over 30 years, the bengals head to nashville for a matchup with the top seeded titans over in dallas, the cowboys trying to complete a comeback, down by 16 dak prescott runs up the middle with no time-outs, 14 seconds left, well short of the end zone, trying to get the snap off, but he cannot get another play off the playoffs done for the boys

the 49ers escape dallas with a win 23-17. and tom brady's quest for an eighth super bowl title got started in tampa the bucs off to a 31-0 lead over the eagles and defeathered philly's comeback attempt late on this holiday monday, let's check back in with janessa. a good thing a lot of people don't have to head to work or school on a day like today, janessa. >> definitely, because we also, on the other side of this storm system, heavy snow that we haven't discussed. you have one side that is producing a ton of rain. national weather service of buffalo reporting 4.6 inches in one hour so you can see we're going to continue to deal with this moisture filtering in. we hav

sunshine finally upper midwest, pretty chilly, in the mid 50s. one more component to the storm system high winds are going to be causing that coastal flooding. we'll look at that forecast coming up. >> janessa, thank you. the celebration in athens, georgia kept going over the weekend. the georgia bulldogs held their national championship parade through the streets of athens on saturday it's the first football title for georgia in 41 years. but the head coach kirby smart told the crowd of thousands he plans on bringing another title home next season a major university president earning almost a million dollars a year is fired over a reported inappropriate relationship and the pandemic supply crunch continues with liquor stores not seeing new de aorrsny

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leading the news following an investigation into an inappropriate relationship, university of michigan president has been fired with the school's board, releasing over 100 of his email communications with an employee earning a base salary of over $900,000, he was fired effective immediately and has not yet responded to nbc news' request for comment. citing his behavior as inconsistent with the dignity and reputation of the university, the school board announced the former president mary sue coleman will temporary full the post. actress laurly laughlin's home has been broken into. it happened back on january 3rd. nobody was home at the time. tmz cited law enforcement sources saying the thieves smashed into a bedroom window

getting access no word if it was random or if they were targeted some liquor store shelves are going try. here is what is in store at one virginia retailer. >> reporter: shelves at virginia abc don't have jack, or jim, or much in the bourbon aisle at all, as supply issues are trickling down to liquor stores. >> what do suppliers have in stock? they have bottles and caps and labels what trucks are available to get them here? >> reporter: typically after the holidays, spirits are low any ways but with the current conditions, booze supply is even more barren >> typical year for us, we might have 50, 55, 60 out of stocks in the warehouse. we've had up to 250. >> reporter: supply chain issuing aren't the only thing impacting inventory. virginia abc is facing challenges due to covid.

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it is unacceptable that they use their power to keep us voiceless. i say, no more >> it's a film that chronicled the 1965 voting rights marches from selma to montgomery as we observe the incredible legacy of dr. martin luther king, jr. today, you can deepen your understanding of his work with these six films

they honor his life, legacy and crusade for justice. >> on this martin luther king jr. day would have also been betty white's 100th birthday the hallmark channel will feature a marathon of 40 straight episodes of "the golden girls" today and canada will remember her by lighting up niagara falls the color white. and a new documentary called "betty white, a celebration" hits theaters today, including her final interview before her passing. coming up, the undersea erupti tonhat wled to a brief tsunami warning for the west coast. we'll be right back. e for type 2 diabetes. his underhand sky serve? on fire. his grilling game? on point. and his a1c? ron is on it. with the once-daily pill, jardiance. jardiance not only lowers a1c... it goes beyond to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death for adults

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enjoy the go with charmin. joe biden and first lady jill biden marked martin luther king, jr. day by packing food for needy families they visited a nonprofit and packed boxes of produce with carrots and apples the philadelphia organization serves about 140,000 people a week in the south jersey and pennsylvania region. an american hero who made black history has died charles mcgee, who was one of the last living tuskegee airmen passed away sunday he was 102 in a statement, his family said he died peacefully in his sleep with a smile on his face and his

right hand over his heart. mcgee, who enlisted in the u.s. army in 1942, flew more than 400 missions three years ago, a young boy from maryland and his neighbor threw a message in a bottle into the sea. little did they know it would travel halfway around the world. our washington, d.c. station spoke with that boy and the ones that found that bottle three years away in ireland. >> reporter: the ocean has always held mystery, a sense of possibility. three years ago, sasha and his beloved neighbor, mr. wayne, decided they would put a message in a bottle. >> we went one mile offshore off ocean city, maryland, and we threw it in, and it just started sailed >> reporter: and it kept going, making its way across the atlantic three years later, on the beach in northern ireland, one couple

just happened to be taking a walk, when something caught their eye. >> it was a message in a bottle, so we got really excited >> reporter: they read the note. it talked about sasha's hobbies and his hometown >> you sort of dream of it as a kid that you find this bottle and it will take you on a magical trip >> reporter: that trip continued when they used faceback to track down sasha's dad >> it was so cool to hear that the bottle made it to ireland. >> reporter: sasha is now 14 his neighbor, mr. wayne, died last year, never finding out what became of their bottle. but through the years, and across continents, his legacy lives on >> the bottle just reflects a happy life and happy time they had together >> reporter: they plan to stay in touch with rita and kieran and hope to some day meet in person a life long friendship that all began over an ocean.

>> that was so cool. our thanks to wrc's amy cho for that report. so cool. >> it is i love everything about that story. just amazing something yodream ofu

on this dr. martin luther king, jr. national holiday, a major winter storm, including snow, ice, and powerful winds hitting millions overnight with flight cancellations and power outages. potential good news on the omicron front, with fewer new cas of covid reported and hospitalizations in some states going down we have new details surrounding the texas synagogue hostage taker, now identified as a british citizen. we'll look back at joe biden's first year in office, where he has succeeded and where he has failed.