this morning on "early today," on the defensive. presidential hopeful rick santorum back pedals on comments about the president's faith. killer snow. tragedy strikes when a fast-moving avalanche catches skiers off guard in washington state. and solar twister. nasa releases stunning video of tornadoes on the surface of the sun. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello, and a very good morning to you. i'm veronica de la cruz. today we begin with politics and

theology. the campaign is criticizing rick santorum. the former pennsylvania senator says obama believes in a, quote, phony theology but then he said he wasn't talking about the president's christianity. nbc's brian mooar has the details from washington. >> reporter: rick santorum was talking about president obama's agenda. >> it's not about you or quality of life or your jobs. it's about some phony ideal, some phony theology. >> reporter: that phony theology line has the obama campaign crying foul. >> it's wrong, it's destructive, it makes it virtually impossible to solve the problems that we all face together as americans. >> reporter: santorum says he was not talking about religion. >> i believe the president when he says he's a christian but i'm talking about his world view. >> reporter: social issues have taking the front. >> if any of the three of us

lose our home state, if santorum loses pennsylvania, romney loses michigan or i lose georgia, you have a very, very bad week in candidacy. >> reporter: while santorum is surging in the poll, john mccain who won back in 2008 standing behind mitt romney. the 2012 gop nomination still up for grabs. brian mooar, nbc news, washington. international nuclear weapons inspectors are in iran this morning to discuss suspicions that the country is secretly working to build an atomic bomb. the u.s. is calling on israel not to launch an attack on iran's nuclear facilities. we have more from teheran. >> reporter: iran remains defiant in the face of international pressure. the oil ministry announced it was cutting off oil supplies to britain and france after the european union imposed sanctions on iran's fuel exports.

there are few signs that iran intends to back down from its nuclear power. western disemployee mats say iran is moving to expand its production of enriched uranium in the under grournd city near the hole city of guam but lacks some equipment. meanwhile its navy sent two warships to syria. they entered the mediterranean via the suez canal. this is only the second time this has happened since the islamic revolution in 1979. at the same time iran foreign minister announced that iran was willing to move quickly to resume talks with world powers after those talks collapsed a year ago. >> and that was nc's ollie arouzi in tehran. now here's a look at other stories making news early today. two armed men walked up to the clerk, emptying the register and opening fire, but the clerk's boss had a gun of his own. he told the men to freeze, but

instead they fired at him so he started shooting back, wounding one robber before tackling the other. both the owner and the clerk escaped unharmed. a man was rescued after fall 25g feet down a steep cliff along the pacific ocean in california. the victim had been out walking and bent down to pick up his cat when he lost his balance. he suffered only minor injuries. all right. don't feel too badly for this group of mourners. they are merry widows, part of a celebration known as joe kane day. kane is credited with bringing mardi gras to mobile, alabama, and for more than 30 years women have held a procession leading to his burial site. finally, what better time than presidents' day weekend for washington nationals to hold auditions. george washington, thomas jefferson and abraham lincoln are all well represented but being president isn't easy. you have to be able to wear 200 yards which amounts to a high

costume include tag 45-pound head, so it is definitely no easy feat but bill karins is throwing his had into the ring. >> you have to do it without running into each other and falling over. >> have you ever done anything like that? >> no. but i always enjoy being at the games and watching that. let's talk about this forecast. yesterday we saw snow move from areas of temp and kentucky and even areas of north carolina and virginia saw snow. of course, these are areaary yas of the country that don't get a lot of snow and when that happen use can get a lot of bad extensions. this is coming from western portions of nashville, tennessee. this was a nasty accident. up to 50 people were treated after a bus and a semi. it was a huge pie-up on 75 in tennessee. only a couple inches is what caused that crash. there were many reports of black ice too over the 24 hours throughout this region. this storm is now exiting. it did not move up the coast. that's why we're not tracking a big nor'easter up in england right now. it went offshore. it's a powerful storm but not

close enough to the coastline to affect anyone else after this. there'll be another storm behind it and another after that. we're behind a active weather pattern but not cold enough. richmond picked up about three inches and now all that rain is heading off the coast. just a lit bit of snow right around southern portions and coastal areas of maryland. the next storm system is going to produce snow today in the midwest. it's now heading out to the central plains and by cheyenne. this snowstorm will bring 1 to 3, possibly a few inches to south dakota including sioux falls. des moines, ames could get a coating too. eventually tonight you'll see a little snow. temperatures are borderline around chicago to see how much you're actually going to get. so we have about one week, a little more than a week left of february. are we finally going to see cold air? this map shows us where the cold air is.

it's well up in northern canada. as we go through the next seven day, we're actually pretty mild. there's a chunk of cold air. it comes down thursday and friday through the middle of the country and the east coast this upcoming weekend an then there's signs of the coldest air of the winter will be coming down through central canada as we head toward the beginning of march and it looks like the northern plains will probably see the coldest period of this winter as we go through the beginning of march. just because march is on its way doesn't necessarily mean spring is going to arrive with it. that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. beautiful day in florida today, a little breezy. yesterday was almost hot. we had record highs in areas like miami. 72 in tampa. this is a beautiful day. oklahoma city, not bad. temperature up near almost 60 degrees today. so no big snowstorms coming this week, but toward next weekend -- >> the coldest air of the winter, is that what you're saying? >> it's going to be chilly in

the northern plains. >> oh, no. here i thought we were clear. >> not yet. >> we've had such a mild winter. crude is up, a creative new way to get paid without leaving home. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, nicolas cage wants vengeance as ghost rider johnny blaze. linsanity continues to grow, phil michal sob hits an amazing shot on the final hole, and lebron james makes a couple kids cry. you're watching "early today."

hey, there, a very good morning do you. welcome back to "early today." i'm veronica de la cruz. here are some of your top headlines this morning. three skiers were killed sunday in an avalanche in washington state. a fourth skier who was wearing a

safety device survived. they were swept more than a quarter mile down. a helicopter collided with a small plane in mid air last night in california but both pilots survived with minor injuries. the chopper was abel to land in a field near a highway while a plane made it to an airport. in mexico anxious family members waited outside for word on 40 people who were fighting. authorities believe it may have been designed to hide an escape attempt. it was the final good-bye for whitney houston as the music legend was brought to a new jersey cemetery for burial. fans lined the route as a motorcade transportsed houston's body. she was laid to rest next to her father in a brief private ceremony. and take a look at this. nasa has released incredible video showing what resembles tornados on the surface of the sun. scientists are using the pictures to learn how the sun's weather patterns affect us back

on earth. markets are closed today but here's a look at how wall street ended on friday. the dow closed at 12,949 after gain 45g points. the s&p was up 3 points the nasdaq lost eight. taking a look at overseas trading this morning in tokyo the nikkei claimed a hundred points while hong kong, the hang seng added 66. while u.s. markets are close for presidents' day, asian markets climbed monday on china's decision to lower levels to boost economy. meanwhile japan's economy is off to a slow start this year with a record $18.5 billion trade deficit last month. oil prices jumped the a nine-month high to nearly $105 a barrel after iran halted crude exports to britain and france after fresh eu sanctions. they held a conference call sunday on a second approval of greece's bailout.

it becomes increasingly apparent that another one is a short-term fix. elsewhere, the co-founder of win resorts was bought over over game ling regulators. it's vowing legal action to block the "quote, outrageous move. they're investigating reports of privacy violations by google. state fines could follow if the ftc finds they violated a consent agreement reached last year. taking a look at homes sales data due out next week. also on deck earnings from heavy hitters kraft, macy's, and walmart. finally if parking is scarce in your area, parkatmyhouse wants to cash in. they're willing to rent out their driveways. mickelson makes title and lebron fans get more than they

bargained for. plus linsanity continues as the knicks take on the champs. your early morning sports head looirchs are straight ahead. your presidents' day forecast has a little bit of snow in the midwest. you're watching "early today."

hey, there. a very good morning do you. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports a new weapon in the

knicks' arsenal setses up jeremy lin for another career game. >> hi, everybody. on friday night jeremy lin took the blame for his first loss as a knicks starter. two days later he was at the garden bringing linsanity back to life. second quarter, close game. lin with the steal, lineding a steal. 14 assists for the harvard sensation. in two, the shot clock winding down. 28 points for lin. knicks win it, 104-97. shoot-out. kevin dur rantd brings them back. connects from downtown. then in the closing seconds durant with the game-tying jam. we're going to overtime. and in o.t., durant doing it again. the steal leads the break. pretty finger roll. career-high 51 for durant. thunder rain down on the nuggets

124-118. to golf, high drama on the final hole. phil mickelson need this to force a playoff. a miracle for lefty. 27-footer to force extra holes and he is pump. playing partner keegan bradley, he's got a chance to join in on the playoffs, gets the roll and we have a three-way showdown in l.a. despite the great shots on 18 bill hawes gets it done. 45-footer for birdie. nails it to win the northern trust open. back to basketball, in miami, heat hustling against the magic. lebron james crashing into the front row. landed on a couple of kids, left that little one crying. but a visit from the king makes it all better. heat rough up their fans and the magic, 90-78. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm bill seward.

lindsay lohan is apparently her own best agent. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, we're going to take you to an event that proves that tuesday isn't just for humans. you're watching "early today."

well, welcome back. here's a look at your presidents' day forecast. hopefully you get to enjoy this three-day weekend. if not, you're just like the

rest of us here. we are watching temperatures on the cooler side in new england. it will be a windy day. where it snowed yesterday, all that snow will melt. in areas of virginia, tennessee, and kentucky. the next system is in the middle of the country, bringing light snow to many areas. we're only expecting a couple inches here and there. nothing too major. areas around south dakota could see up to 3 inches. tomorrow colder air covers much of the country. the rain showers will continue in the ohio valley with snow showers in the northern great lakes, otherwise it looks pretty quiet. well, if you're watching us on wood tv in grand rapids michigan in nearby holland learn the history of souvenir post cards at wish you were here the holland museum. that's your "early today" event of the day. now a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment news. two box holdovers made impressive showings beating out two newcomers. "safe house" managed to pull in

$24 million in its second weekend. while the row tan tick moving was a close second with $23.6 million. nicolas cage's "ghost rider" came in with a disapoint 2g $2 million despite higher hef-priced 3-d tickets. "this means war" failed to capture the same audience as "the vow" and ranked sixth. elsewhere a representative for stephen colbert will return tonight after a sudden break do to his ailing mother's 4e789. she was dying to do "snl" to kick start her comeback and she reached out to legislator rehn michaels to book the march 3rd gig. >> she doesn't need an agent or anyone. >> it's probably better at this point. >> i mean they gave her the spot. hopefully she'll do a lot of good with it. >> she's saying or supposedly has said she's doing this so

people see her once again as an actress and not as a defendant. this is her big comeback. >> she's going to have to laugh at herself because that's going to be part of it. >> yeah, all right. this now comes to us from nbc 4 in los angeles where a man's best friend is apparently ready for mardi gras. dogs are dressed to impress in a contest called muddy gras. the l.a. market prode prizes to each peach declared king and queen. so cute. they also took part in a pet parade. noncanine competitors were also welcome. no word on whether any of the fidos or fifis are headed to new orleans for the mother of all mardi gras celebrations. i'm verronica dell la cruz. this is "early today" just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

>> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning. happy presidents day. the storm missed us to the south. most of the accumulating snow to place down in southern maryland and in the mountains of virginia. cloudy and the might be a few snow flurries around. 36 at the airport. becoming a mostly sunny. we will see some clouds this morning but becoming mostly cloudy and breezy. we'll check the seven forecast

in just a few minutes. >> 35 degrees on tv hill. the weight is on for a verdict in the george huguely murder trial. that will be delayed until wednesday. >> at the same sex marriage bill advances to the senate. >> issues are sharpening political rhetoric between president obama and republicans looking to replace him president obama and republicans looking to replace him

[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning. i'm mindy basara. >> and i'm stan stovall. thank you for joining us this morning. >> we miss this storm down to the south. we had maybe an inch