that you even know who i am, let alone even time to make money. many thanks. primary concern. the battle for south carolina intensifies with a new revelation on what front-runner mitt romney pays in taxes. chicago shocker. a group of teens are charged in the brutal beating and robbery of an illinois boy. and bear bones. archaeologists uncover prehistoric skulls they say could date back to the ice age. good morning, everyone. i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc.

and we're going to begin this morning with a taxing situation. with just two days until the south carolina primary, republican presidential front-runner mitt romney is taking heat from his rivals over the revelation that he pays a lower tax rate than the average american. it is a topic that is sure to dominate when the candidates square off tonight in north charleston. nbc's tracie potts is in washington with the details. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. the millionaire front-runner has a couple of financial problems down with the voters in south carolina. first of all, the $374,000 he got in speaking fees last year, an amount he described as not much before the actual amount was released. and also the 15% effective tax rate that he is paying romney in an interview said he explained that's because it is from investments, not from wages, from wages that tax rate could be double. romney has promised to release his tax returns, but not right

away. he says he'll do it in april, which, he says, is traditionally when candidates tend to do that, after the most recent return is ready. but yesterday one of his strongest supporters, new jersey governor chris christie, called on him to release those tax returns sooner, sooner is generally better than later. but in response, romney still says he'll wait until april to release those returns. expect this issue to come up tonight at the second debate in south carolina. that debate just days before south carolina's primary. lynn? >> thanks. the 15% tax rate romney pays may be a problem for him with voters. tax expert david k. johnson explains why romney is paying that rate and why it works and he makes clear why many people may consider it unfair. >> you and i and john and most of the viewers get a paycheck from which the government takes the taxes out before we get our money. and if you're a single person making a bit over $60,000,

you're paying 15% of your income to the federal government. but romney set up these deals where he was allowed to get compensation, not investments, compensation for managing other people's investments and be paid with what is called carried interest. well, he doesn't pay any taxes on that until he cashes out. he'll pay taxes on a dividend or other things that flow out of it. but imagine if you could for five or ten or 20 years have wealth in your bank account or your offshore account and all you had to do was pay this low 15% rate on the dividends that flows from that and your wealth is untaxed. we don't know how much of his wealth is untaxed and we won't unless we get his tax returns all the way back to 1984. >> and you can watch "the ed show" at 8:00 eastern only on msnbc, the place for politics. while environmentalists praise it, republicans are slamming president obama's decision to block a controversial oil pipeline.

the keystone xl project would have carried oil mixed with tar sands from western canada across the midwest and down to gulf coast refineries. critics say the pipeline posed a risk by going through the environmentally sensitive areas of nebraska. but union leaders and the gop say it would have created thousands of jobs. newt gingrich called the president's decision, quote, stunningly stupid. the pipeline owner will eventually submit a new plan with an alternate route. and now to the very latest, this morning on that disaster involving a grounded cruise liner off the coast of italy. the captain of that ship is claiming he tripped and fell from the vessel as it was tilting over last friday. he says that he did not intend to abandon his passengers. satellite photographs are being used to monitor the accident site for any signs of a fuel leak. 11 people are confirmed dead. and commerce seasalmer seas allh to resume this morning.

an american couple is among those still missing. here is the first look at the othernys going on around america today. a videotaped beating that went viral has led to the arrest of seven chicago teens. battery and robbery charges were filed in connection with a violent assault on a high school student recorded and posted online by one of the suspects. a all but one of the teens has been charged as juveniles. brushfires in central florida came close to killing at least one member of the wildlife community. home video shows an injured black bear struggling to flee the area after possibly scorching his paws. the blaze spread through over 30 acres and forced evacuations before dozens of firefighters brought it under control. and finally, it looks like the hollywood awards season has finally gone to the dogs. co-stars of the golden globe winning film "the artist" were on hand to announce the nominees for first ever golden collar awards. we knew it was just a matter of

time for that, didn't we? honors for the best performing canines in film and television will be handed out february 13th. now for a look at your national weather, we turn to msnbc meteorologist bill karins with your weather channel forecast. >> the poor bear, saddest video ever. >> first issue of business here, the saddest video ever. he's said to be okay but i'm sorry, bill -- >> in bed with the paws up and a big bowl of honey. good morning. the big story yesterday was the snowstorm that moved through the pacific northwest. seattle area got some snow. not the blockbuster historic event, but they did get about 4 inches. by seattle standards, that's enough to send the cars careening into each other. they're not used to that. with all the hills they have there, doesn't make things any better. that person was lucky that they didn't have more damage than that. four inches officially in seattle. portland had three. the mountainous areas did much better. even tacoma got picked up almost 6 to 12 inches along with olympia. a lot of areas on i-5 have a lot of recovery to do.

i'm sure many schools will be canceled in the regions as they continue the cleanup. that storm is going to move now into areas of idaho, montana, wyoming, heavy snow in the mountains. the valleys are doing okay. boise pick up 6 to 10 inches, a huge snowstorm by their standards. the weather pattern is the middle of winter. it looks like winter finally. the cold air this morning in new england, there is extremely cold air in the northern plains, just wait until i tell you what the windchills are like, and then we have the storm affecting areas of the west. now we're in a cold period and we're in a stormy period. we're going to expect more snow across the country and a lot of areas haven't seen a lot will have a couple of chances in the next couple, 4 to 5 days. this morning, salt lake, rain for you. your mountains are picking up significant snow. we also are with the arctic front blowing across lake michigan. we have snow showers, grand rapids, probably going to have an hour or two here. we have put down a quick inch or two. and all of michigan will see snow squalls in the period of light snow today, even chicago there is snow flurries around right now. so the snow forecast, we get the

heavy snows in the mountainous areas of the northwest. a little piece of energy is going to sneak off of that tonight into tomorrow. during the day on friday, the quad cities could pick up significant snow, enough that you shovel. and then that could go right through chicago, northern indiana, southern michigan, northern ohio, areas like detroit, cleveland, toledo, you could have a little mini snowstorm on your hands as we go through friday late into friday night. so could be some shoveling there saturday morning and eventually i think some of that snow could make its way into areas like new york city during the day saturday, possibly even philadelphia and areas of southern new england. so just be prepared if you have your weekend plans in new england. i did tease and mention the windchills and this is the lowest windchills i've seen this winter. right now, temperatures 9 in minneapolis. the windchill is minus 32. many areas of the -- many areas are in the minus 40 range. that's like unbearable. there is something called an extremely cold warning that is in place for all of the northern plains. today in minneapolis, it is 4.

that is cold. there is no other way to talk about it. >> i had to interrupt you there for a many up. >> it's fine. it deserved it. >> thank you. coming up, negative developments for eastman kodak. banks deliver their bottom line. and something sweet is happening in florida. your "first look" at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. the wizards do it again. a hollywood sequel for david beckham. and a tennis player causes quite a racket at the aussie open. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. you know when i grow up,

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welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. here is some of the top stories making news this morning. yesterday's online protest against anti-piracy legislation may be paying off. a growing number of lawmakers are pulling their support of the stop online piracy act and the protect ip act. critics fear the bills would create unprecedented censorship

of the web. prosecutors say a contractor working for the federal reserve stole the bank software to track government finances worth millions. and allegedly copied the code to help his private computer programming business. someone was able to smuggle a magazine published by al qaeda to a detainee at guantanamo bay. one issue contained tips on how to kill americans. authorities say now mail between prisoners and attorneys is being inspected. good and bad news for the washington monument. a billionaire is coming forward to finish repair work after last year's earthquake. but that work will keep the monument closed for the rest of this year. they were all the rage after kate middleton's wedding but do not try to wear a fascinator in one part of england. the royal ascot horse racing course says ladies can wear hats but no fascinators in certain areas. they're also banning some types of dresses. and in mexico,

archaeologists have found the remains of bears including skulls that may be 11,000 years old. they were in underwater sinkholes inside caves in the yucatan peninsula. now here is your "first look" at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,578 after gaining 96 points yesterday. the s&p added 14 points. and the nasdaq climbed 41. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei rose 89 points, while in hong kong, the hang seng rose 256. a triple header of key economic reports are due out today. and that's going to include consumer price index. we're also going to get the latest weekly update on unemployment claims, plus the latest data on new housing starts. earnings reports are due this morning from bank of america and other financial stocks like morgan stanley. investment bank goldman sachs net income declined 58% in the fourth quarter.

but the company still made a billion dollars and beat analysts' estimates. ebay's net income in the fourth quarter was almost $2 billion. it was helped by higher revenue and the sale of its remaining interests in skype. factory output surged in december by the most in a year. there was stronger demand for business equipment, vehicles and energy as manufacturing rebounds from the recession. foreign demand for u.s. treasury debt rose in november to the highest level ever. total foreign holdings increased to $4.75 trillion. the international monetary fund plans to raise an extra $500 billion so it can issue new loans. the imf says the euro zone nations may need to borrow a trillion dollars in coming years. eastman kodak fired for bankruptcy today in a bid to survive a liquidity crisis. the company had years of falling sales and the decline of its film business. airfares are going up yet again. delta airlines increased fares by $4 to $10 round trip across

much of the u.s. and a florida company has been chosen as the best chocolate in america. this is the sixth year in a row that norman love confections won the top honor. how about sending some samples. we'll be the judge of that. coming up, steve nash auditions for the knicks. a japanese pitcher signs in texas and david beckham decides he's going to stay in l.a. who says there is no fire and personality in professional tennis. get it all out there. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. two. three. one. -two. -three. -one. -two. -three. [ male announcer ] with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, earn 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% back on groceries. and 3% back on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. -it's as easy as...1. -two. -three. [ male announcer ] 1, 2, 3 percent cash back for the things you buy most. the bankamericard cash rewards card. apply online or at a bank of america near you.

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welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. in sports, the nba's washington wizards are having that kind of a year. when they win a game, it ends up being a lead story. here's nbc's fred roggin. >> last week the wizards picked up their first win of the season. yesterday they beat the best team in the league for win number two. what is next for the wiz in d.c.? balancing the budget? wizards shocked everybody including themselves against the thunder. jordan crawford up top to john wool. he had a team high 25. nick young caught fire from beyond the arc, a couple of threes down the stretch. and the wizards put a spell on the thunder, 105-102. magic and spurs needed overtime. gary neil had one shot all game, but gave the spurs the lead in ot. magic a chance in the final seconds. redick drained the three for the win. but he didn't get it off in time. spurs won their first road game of the year, 85-83 in ot.

there is one fan who is green and another who is anything but lean. the nuggets trimmed the fat against the sixers. andre miller scored the final ten points in regulation and hit the go ahead in ot. finished with 28 off the bench and denver won it 108-104. what is up with the knicks? steve nash and the suns rolled into new york and handed the knicks their fourth straight loss. spike lee didn't look happy. phoenix won it 99-88. the texas rangers signed darvish to a $60 million deal. and david beckham will play two more years in the mls, agreeing to a contract to stay with the l.a. galaxy. the biggest loser is marco bagdadis. frustrated with his play, he took it out on his equipment. after smashing one racket, he moved on to another and then he moved on to another and, yep, one more for good measure. he broke four rackets. two of them still in the factory plastic.

john mcenroe would have been proud. four rackets smash and one huge tell ter temper tantrum for marco bagdadis. for another look at the weather, here is bill karins. how does that compare to my temper tantrums? >> about on par. >> i have my paper. i can't break anything. >> but you did play tennis, you did play tennis and you can relate to the -- >> i was actually fined -- or given a slap on the wrist for having a little racket fail. >> racket fail. that sounds better than temper tantrum. did your coach give you a time-out in the corner? we'll talk about snow in the next couple of days. if you're in areas of southern new england, maybe the mid-atlantic, philadelphia area, new jersey, pennsylvania, new york city area, you haven't seen any snow this winter. maybe two shots for you. light snow heading through areas of michigan. this will blow through areas of michigan and the great lakes today. pittsburgh will eventually have

a chance for snow showers and buffalo later tonight that will go through areas like southern new england and new england with a dusting out there. there will be a little bit come tomorrow morning. there is a more significant shot of snow. we had winter storm watches issued for areas like milwaukee and chicago. you'll get a winter storm it looks like friday to friday night. possibility maybe six inches. then this will translate east by the time we get to saturday. and it looks like someone, whether it be southern new england, possibly the areas in the poconos or areas in northern jersey, maybe even suburbs of philly, come during the day saturday, someone is probably going to end up with 3 to 6 inches of snow, which is not a big deal but it will be one of the first times we have a chance of that much snow ever since that halloween surprise storm way back when, lynn. the kids can get a little excited, they can get out there and do a little shrledding. mark wahlberg says he's sorry. and rob lowe sports reporter? plus, she's jersey shore's queen of big hair, leopard skin, heavy mascara.

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british airways crew mistakenly told passengers that their plane was about to crash into the ocean. but it turns out a flight attendant hit the wrong button. i don't know what's worse, getting lied to about crashing into the ocean or knowing it happens so often there say button for it. can't just say that? a group of scientists around the world are teaming up to take the first ever picture of a black hole. it is really -- it is, like, you take it yet? are you close? should i just -- i just want --

i'm sorry, i got to -- sorry, sorry, i'm just going. this is nice, last night president obama took michelle out to a steak restaurant for her birthday. marking it first time in months the word obama and well done appeared in the same sentence. very rare these days. >> tonight jimmy welcomes actor ewan mcgregor and home pros from ask this old house along with musical guest the everett brothers at 12:35, 11:35 central time on your local nbc station. time now for a little entertainment news. rob lowe has scored maybe a big sports scoop when he let the world know abo this on twitter. lowe set both the social networking and pro football worlds on their ears wednesday after tweeting that his favorite indianapolis colts quarterback peyton manning was retiring. manning did sit out the season with an injury and is thought to be on the trading block, but until yesterday no one has mentioned the possibility of

retirement. lowe, who is known to be friends with the colts owner, said he hopes his source is wrong. backlash has forced mark wahlberg to apologize for telling mens journal in an interview that he would have stopped terrorists from flying an airliner into the world trade center on september 11th if he had been on the plane. and finally jersey shore's snooki, noknown for her makeup, bronzing and wild hairstyles, took to twitter yesterday. wait for it. look at that. she posted a picture of herself completely natural, no makeup, and it is leaving a lot of people wondering why she bothers with makeup at all because, frankly, snooki, seriously, seriously, you look so much better. >> she could walk down the hall looking like that and i would have no idea who it was. >> i know. i know. >> pretty girl. >> and get out of the bronzing booth. >> me? >> no, get into the bronzing booth, actually, bill. you and i both need to learn that lesson. >> all right. >> we do. i'm lynn berry.

this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned. "way too early with willie geist" starts right now. it is two days now until the south carolina primary and the race is tightening quickly. we're live in the great old city of charleston, south carolina. as you can see, even this horse is bitter about being up at this hour. it is "way too early" for this. good morning. i'm willie geist. this is a special edition of "way too early" live at the historic mills house in south carolina. thanks to the horse for getting up so early with us. the new hampshire primary was a foregone conclusion, the vote here on saturday is anything but. we'll show you new polls in a