th it is thursday, january 21st, coming up on "early today" an historic northeaster bringing as much as two feet of snow to some areas while others will see freezing rain. even chance for rare january tornados. stocks plunge even deeper as oil drops to prices not seen since 2003. hillary clinton is facing the prospect that senator bernie sanders may beat hear in iowa and new hampshire. and details related to the toxic water crisis. fireworks for the wrong reasons. and snowboarder facing criminal charges for starting an avalanche. "early today" starts now. i'm sheba russell. the biggest storm in a century. that is baa some cities are facing this weekend as the

way to the eastern part of the country. upwards of two feet of snow predicted for some areas. president obama's motorcade last night got backed up as slick roads delayed the return to the white house. baltimore and washington d.c. are already under blizzard watches. starting friday afternoon, new york city also under a blizzard watch which begins saturday morning, as winter attempts to catch up on the mild season. bill karins is here tracking the storm. >> hard to believe we're going to have a worse storm than in this winter stop sign. tornados throughout the day today and then an ice storm and possibility of historic snowfall, not to mention coastal flooding on top of that. little rock to virginia, the greatest concern is the mountains of virginia, towards washington d.c. also as we go up towards areas of philadelphia, towards new york city.

the highest winds and the worst conditions. we may even get a blizzard. you need three hours of 35 miles per hour and quarter mile visibility or less. and that could happen. friday at the peak, severe weather in the southeast. kentucky, charlotte, north carolina. a lot of power outables from this storm. and our computers are estimating anywhere from the purple is one foot. inside is a foot and a half and some areas up to two feet of snow. right now our nations capital is going to be somewhere around 20 inches of snow, which will put them in the top three snowfall all time for the city. >> money can't buy happiness, and at least in this election cycle it can't buy support either. this is according to the latest ad spending numbers by campaigns

they show front runners donald trump and ted cruz have spent more than $8 million on tv ads combined. compare that to the $91 million on marco rubio and jeb bush. and adding others the number 114 million, more than 14 times that of trump and cruz. speaking of cruz, senator dole told the "new york times" that he questions cruz' loyalty to the republican party and says it would suffer, quote, cataclysmic and wholesale losses if cruz receives the nomination. the former kansas senator was kinder to donald trump who he says has the right personality. supporter. all with the iowa caucuses only eleven days away. christianity.

there is an assault on everything. >> reporter: donald trump -- >> -- and we're going to stop the assault. >> reporter: and sarah palin. >> thank you so much oklahoma. >> the former vice presidential candidate saying trump will give the u.s. military what they now lack. >> let them do their job and go kick isis ass. >> that military theme turned personal for palin. i guess it is kind of elephants in the room. the enthusiastic crowd in tulsa fell silent as palin explained her oldest sontrack, an iraq war veteran was arrested and charged with domestic violence against his girlfriend. >> my son like myany others they come back a little different. they come back hardened. and -- >> reporter: and stops at liberty university. >> we're going to protect

>> trump's focus is now on the evangelical vote, hoping to peel away ted cruz supporters in iowa. while palin may anoint trump with evangelicals, she's not universally loved by trump supporters. >> i've never liked her. i -- i don't like her. >> so will the endorsement help or hurt trump? >> the people i've talked to i think i hurts. >> feeling the bern. hillary clinton surrogates ramping up their attack, painting senator sanders as an aun electable sociallyist. i think it would be absolutely impossible for a self declared socialist to win in a state like missouri. >> bill clinton steering clear of those words, just saying sanders is une electronable and just can't win.

win the election? who's prepared to do the job? who can make real change? >> could the socialist line of attack backfire. >> a lot of the voters are going to be capable of looking past the socialist label. >> the republican national committee tweeting during last weekend's democratic debate, i feel the bern. >> they would rather run against him. >> the clinton campaign with polls showing her lead slipping. sanders firmly in the lead in new hampshire. down playing any nervousness to andrea mitchell. >> we have a candidate who is leading throughout the country. she is leading in all the super tuesday states by significant margins. >> that was christen welker and carrie sanders. we continue to learn more about the flint, michigan water crisis, including new details about decision making.

snyder's office released e-mails from 2014 and last year yesterday. in them a september e-mail says responsibility for the crisis lies with the city and county. but that the state should be involved to avoid the narrative that the state is ducking responsibility. in several october e-mails snyder asks for status reports on the situation. the governor said he acted when he knew and was legally permitted to do so. he apologized to the people of flint and promised to fix the mess. at the detroit auto show president obama talked about the crisis in personal terms. >> if i was a parent up there, i would be beside myself. that my kids' health could be at risk. >> approved saturday allows the

deliver water and supplements. overseas markets are mostly in the red this morning following another big sol off on wall street. the dow closing down 249 wednesday as oil prices continue to tank. it is good news for drivers but bad news for a major sector of the u.s. economy where businesses are hurting. let's get the very latest now from cnbc's landon dowdy. good morning. >> the markets could come under more selling pressure today but maybe not as severe as wednesday. the dow was down as much as 560 points before reversing course. the index traveling 11 hundred points and oil could drive action again today. report of a big increase of u.s. supplies. investors are feeling the pain.

$10,000 since is markets peeked last year. traders though are encouraged as the markets opened sharply lower wednesday and recovered some of that lost ground. meanwhile mostle of walmart's hourly workers getting a raise. the retailer also offering things like short-term disability insurance at no cost and will allow workers to accrue paid time off. >> one worker has earned the title of super mom. it happened sunday night. after the driver locked the doors and sped off the trio turned their attention to a second vehicle. one suspect made it into the driver seat but the owner, super mom wasn't about to let them get away. she yanked the carjacker out of the vehicle. the police later arrested the suspects.

>> first the fire and now there is ice. a philadelphia apartment building engulfed in flames last night is now encased in ice. temperatures dipped to the mid 20s during the fire. lets get to bill karins now with another check of the weather. >> we have a storm to deal with in the northwest this morning. a lot of heavy rain in the olympics to the cascades. throughout the day the rain is going to spread into california too. so this is very similar to the last storm. snow levels are very high but we could pick up 1-2 inches of rain. and in the mountains, as far as the snow goes not block busters with this one. storm is pretty warm but we'll see at least another 6-12 inches in the higher sections of the mountains. and the in l.a., 76 and sunny. not bad. that is your national weather now a closer look at your day ahead. well the storm is the worst this morning in the pacific northwest.

couple more breaks out there. and we'll watch the rain moving into areas of central california throughout the day today. two storms on the map but the one in the east is definitely the one that is going to cause a lot more damage. >> all right. we are ready. getting ready bill. thank you. the affluenza teen, he could be back on u.s. soil sooner than later. plus a group of snowboarder may face chargers for triggering an avalanche. you are watching "early today."air color wants to help you keep on being you. nice'n easy. we only make the most real natural looking color. so even in revealing sunlight, it doesn't look like hair color at all. it looks like, it's a hundred percent you. and isn't that the most beautiful part? before earning enough cash back from bank of america to help pay for her kids' ice time.

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tell your doctor if you have liver disease or are taking other medications, because these may increase the amount of xifaxan in your body. tell your doctor if you are pregnant, plan on becoming pregnant, or are nursing. the most common side effects are nausea and an increase in liver enzymes. if you think you have ibs with diarrhea, talk to your doctor about new xifaxan. ethan couch could be returning to the u.s. in a couple of weeks according to his lawyers. the 18-year-old is expected to face a hearing in texas on whether to try him as an adult after fleeing to mekzco with his mother last month. this snowboarders avalanche video went viral. now he may be in deep trouble

the closed section of the sugar bowl resort in california. the resort the pursuing criminal charges saying he put himself, his friends, ski patrol and the skiing public at risk. martin shkreli famously raised the price of an hiv drug by 5,000 percent. he's in and out set the appear before a congressional committee. on twitter he said he hasn't decided whether he'll show up. shkreli has also invoked the fifth amendment. and this may look like the fourth of july but it was actually a massive explosion at the fire works factory in china. three killed and at least 50 injured. and check out this shocking dash cam video out of brazil

over throwing a passenger into the air before crashing into a ditch. that passenger right there survived with broken bones. sports is up next. stay with us don't stare at me. see me. see me. see me to know that psoriasis is just something that i have. i'm not contagious. see me to know that i won't stop. until i find what works. discover cosentyx, a different kind of medicine for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. proven to help the majority of people find clear or almost clear skin. 8 out of 10 people saw 75% skin clearance at 3 months. while the majority saw 90% clearance. do not use if you are allergic to cosentyx. before starting, you should be tested for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms... ...such as fever, sweats, chills, muscle aches or cough. or if you have received a vaccine or plan to. if you have crohn's disease, tell your doctor as symptoms can worsen. serious allergic reactions may occur.

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fatal poisoning of a kgb who claimed on his death bad that vladimir putin ordered his killing. and the buffalo bilsz are the first pro franchise to hire a full-time female coach. smith joined the bills along with head coach rex ryan a year ago in an administrative role and before that she worked for 12 years with the new york jets mostly as the player personnel assistant. and this last second thriller in the nba. incredible shot. moments later valentine with a chance for the win misses the jumper. unranked nebraska hands the spartans their third straight loss, 72-71. villanova got quite a square

nova pulled out their ninth straight win 72-71. but number six west virginia isn't so lucky fuelalling to the longhorns. and tenderness at the australian open. tsonga noticed a ball girl crying. she apparently was struck in the face with a ball. and by the way tsonga won the match in straight sets. >> just ahead the hottest names in music will perform at this year's gammamies. and girls across america swoon as for over 850 miles. my men driven nearly mad from starvation and frostbite. today we make history. >>bienvenidos!

if you're dora the explorer, you explore. it's what you do. >>what took you so long? if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. it's what you do. >>you did it, yay! you wanna see something intense? new pantene expert gives you the most beautiful hair ever, with our strongest pro-v formula ever. strong is beautiful. announcement: this storm promises to be the biggest of the decade. with total accumulation of up to three feet. roads will be shut down indefinitely. and schools are closed. campbell's soups go great with a cold and a nice red.

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three: new trublend blush and bronzer - a baked blend to get you glowing! find your trublend it's easy as 1 tru 3 easy breezy beautiful covergirl. . now to entertainment -- >> oh wait. got to give the weather. very important. just teasing. into the afternoon, as far as the storm goes we have the east coast storm t west coast storm. the new system is arriving. the heaviest in the pacific northwest. high surf. the mountain snow will accumulate but they are pretty high up there as far as where we're going to see the heavy snow. the forecast for today, the worst is definitely in the pacific northwest. 54 in seattle with good soaking rains out there this morning.

sorry to jump in. now to entertainment. the line up for grammy performances has been announced. adele, kendrick lamar and taylor swift. in a new movie she's focus on her relationship with castro before the assassination attempt. >> "star wars" will have to wait wait. and adam driver has a new doppelganger. a photo of a cat that looks just like the "star wars" actor. >> that cat looks photo shopped. >> yeah it does a little photo shopped. and james burrows, directed episodes of cheers, the mary

taxi, friends, frazier, will and grace, two and a half men among many others. the tribute will air february 21st at 9:00ment. and zac efron got down and dirty with ellen yesterday. take a look. >> lap dancing. >> yeah. >> i just couldn't let it go. >> that will keep you warm for this weekend. >> he wore the leather pants to. that was set up. >> all right. i'm sheba russell. this is "early today".." if you're looking to save money on your medicare part d prescriptions, walgreens says, carpe med diem. seize the day to get more out of life and medicare part d. just switch to walgreens for savings that'll be the highlight of your day.

you can even get one-dollar copays on select plans. i'm jerry bell the second. and i'm jerry bell the third. i'm like a big bear and he's my little cub. this little guy is non-stop. he's always hanging out with his friends. you've got to be prepared to sit at the edge of your seat and be ready to get up. there's no "deep couch sitting." definitely not good for my back. this is the part i really don't like right here. (doorbell) what's that? a package! it's a swiffer wetjet. it almost feels like it's moving itself. this is kind of fun. that comes from my floor? eww! this is deep couch sitting.

>> whiteness history month raises questions at portland community college. lecture lecture, panels dealing with racism and community issues are planned for the entire month of april. in the toronto star, man 80 charged for driving car almost completely covered with snow. the driver was pulled over with only a small hole cleared. he was charged with driving with no clear view and faces a $110 fine. >> in north texas a fire truck crashed into a dairy queen. but it wasn't a firefighter

the truck was returning to the fire station after being cleaned. another car crash caught on camera. this car plowed through a service station. the crash caused a major gas leak that lasted hours. three occupants were treat forward injuries. a fourth man believed to be the driver took off from the scene. the cause of that crash is still unknown as well. the solar system appears to have a new ninth planet. evidence of a body with mass, up to ten times the size of earth, far beyond neptune. the findings were published in the astronomical journal. and a set of preemmy twins becoming fast friends o outside of the womb. they were resting with their father when they suddenly reached out to hold hands. though they were born severely premature they appear to be on

still connected. now the u.s. department of homeland security is said to announce new visa requirements. applying to dual nationals of iran, iraq, sudan or syria or who visited any of those countries in the last five years. the new requirements are designed to make it harder for europeans who have fought for isis to enter the u.s. and happy birthday. now keep it right here for more news, weather and sports. i'm sheba russell. thanks so much for watching