good thursday morning. coming up on "early today," the northeast braces for an historic blizzard complete with powerful wind gusts. we've got your weather channel forecast just ahead. president obama orders the justice department to release classified memos over drone strikes used to kill americans as john brennan prepares for a difficult hearing today. plus, a bad nanny caught in the act of hitting an infant. a dog with a human face. and believe it or not, a study that tells women the time and day they're least attractive. >> announcer: this is "early today" for thursday, february 7th, 2013. thursday, february

7th, 2013. good morning, i'm mara schiavocampo. whether you live in the northeast or you're traveling anywhere near there this weekend, you need to know there's a whopper of a snowstorm headed this way. the national weather service is forecasting more than 2 feet of snow in some place. nbc's bill karins is tracking the storm. >> historic is the right word. now we need to get the players on the field. you are going to have a significant storm of your own. travel is going to be very difficult. milwaukee, grand rapids, possibly even around chicago with winter storm warnings for a good chunk of michigan. it should be warm enough where you don't have a lot of

accumulations. one greed yeingredient for the storm. the other shot in the east. all the details coming up. >> we'll have more later today, bill. president obama's nominee to head the cia can look forward to a grilling on capitol hill this morning. during confirmation hearings, john brennan will be asked to explain the legal justification for predator drone strikes against u.s. citizens. lawmakers are expected to zero on on mr. obama's chief terrorist adviser and what he knew and when he knew it. the tactic faces new recruit any of after release of confidential documents. and there are documents showing drones used to kill members of al qaeda. that brought back after demands of the legal justification for the strikes. late wednesday the white house bowed to growing political pressure and agreed to hand over the documents to congress.

senator dianne feinstein said lawmakers should know what brennan knew and when he knew it. she released a statement, it is critical for the committee's oversight function to fully understand the legal basis for all the counterterrorism operation. >> last summer, brennan said the use of drone strikes by the u.s. has turned al qaeda into quote, a shadow of what it once was. under president obama, the program has been used to take out 400 terrorist targets in pakistan and the middle east. potential cuts in the defense department have already faced changes in the military operations. the pentagon said it will reduce plans in the persian gulf. that would leave one carrier in the region. defense secretary leon panetta warns under the pentagon cuts, workers could face furloughs saying, quote, this is not a game. this is reality. vice president joe biden

made an emotional appeal to house democrats urging them to support the obama administration gun control administration. inviteden choked up while recounting sandy hook. and a somber tone turned emphatic, reminding his audience as of their obligations as lawmakers to act. >> when people tell me that you can't prevent these kinds of occurrences, that doesn't mean we can't do something to god forbid if it happens again, diminish the carnage. it matters. it matters. >> speaking to those worried about the political consequences and backing controversial gun legislation, biden argued, quote, i promise you times have changed. new jersey governor chris christie is known for being direct. well, once, his response to a doctor offering an unsolicited

opinion on his weight was just that. >> this is just another hack who wants five minutes on tv. >> his comments came after connie mariano warned that he would die if in office. the governor has joked about his weight in the past and even on david letterman this week but he didn't find anything funny about mariano's comments. >> it's completely irresponsible. completely irresponsible. i have four children between 9 and 19. my 12-year-old son called me last night and said, dad, are you going to die? if she wants to get on a plane and come here to new jersey and ask me if she wants to examine me and review my medical history, i have a conversation about that. until that time, she should shut up. >> bill karins has more on what's shaping up to be a powerful nor'easter. bill, what do you have? >> this storm has all the elements of a storm. this is not for d.c., not for philadelphia. connecticut northward to new york city is kind of a

question mark. we have blizzard watches that have now been issued for areas of southern connecticut and that's new. last night, from boston to providence. so the i-95 corridor is the biggest area of concern for the heavy snow, the gusty winds, probably impossible travel on i-95. all of new england and much of new york state is under the winter storm watch. now, as far as our computers go, we're looking at the heaviest snowfall amounts. you're talking historic snows possibly in that i-95 corridor from the boston to providence corridor. about 20 inches of snow for this area. then a little less from new haven to new york city because we may get a winter mix during the day on friday. changing over to snow on the back side. as far as historic goes, the best chance of that happening, the coastal flooding, the damaging winds, hurricane force winds that would be on cape cod 'the i-95 corridor from boston to providence.

if you're traveling there, you're not going to do it friday into saturday. that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. once again, washington, d.c., this will be a rain event when the storm comes in. most of friday. once you get up to philadelphia and new york city, we'll have to watch the rain turning into snow friday night. so this is a storm that's going to be historical, hopefully, it won't be too crippling. at least it's fast-moving. >> you being mr. silver lining, the ski resorts -- >> the ski resorts are e-mailing me. snowmobilers. plough drivers. the ten most disliked athletes in america. and outraged at what some are calling a racist frat party at duke university. we'll show you the pictures. plus, the thrill of victory and the agony of racing up 1,576 steps of the empire state

building. "early today" back in two minutes.

welcome back. here's some other stories making news this morning. new sanctions against iran go into effect today. the obama administration is targeting the country's big broadcaster and internet policing agency. economic sanctions enacted last summer have also been triggered. washington hopes the move will force iran to halt its nuclear program. police in southern california are on the hunt for a man who used to be one of their own. former lapd officer christopher dorner is wanted nkz in connection to a double homicide. the cal state basketball coach and her fiance were found shot to death sunday night. some say the kappa sigma fraternity went too far in throwing an asian party. an invitation was written in broken english and portrayed kim jong-il trip to america.

members of duke's asian student association are protesting what they call a, quote, racist rager. beginning in august, the post office will no longer deliver mail on saturdays. however, your packages will still show up in your mailbox. post office locations will remain open. it's expected to save the cash-strapped agency about $2 billion. and there's research that pinpoints the time of day when a woman looks her worse. i'm not kidding. drum roll, please. wednesday afternoon at 3:30 has been precisely identified at the time when women's energy levels drop and work stress peaks. they say hump day was the worst. to that i say thank goodness it's thursday. in health news, researchers have discovered the first u.s. cases of whooping cough caused by a germ that may be vaccine resistant. the first such cases were reported in france, japan and finland. the cdc says the u.s. had nearly 42,000 cases of whooping cough last year with 18 fatalities. that's the most in six decades. "early today" health is brought to you by vagisil, bring yourself back.

very big deal up in the air. sure to get wall street's attention this morning. according to "the wall street journal," american airlines parent amr and us airways are hashing out the final details of a major merger. if the deal gets done, the company would be the largest airline. meanwhile, keep an eye on boeing, the ntsb will deliver an update. the maker is looking to design changes for the lithium battery used in its 787 dreamliners in hopes of getting the grounded jets back in the air. on wednesday, they told federal regulators they could begin one test flight with the crew but no passengers. yahoo! shares took off in late news. it struck an advertising deal with rival google. home depot is hiring 80,000 seasonal workers in the spring. 10,000 more than last year. listen up. if you're one of millions of americans answering work e-mails at home.

a case is moving forward in chicago. a cop claims they're owed overtime for scanning e-mails on off duty on their blackberrys. after ten years, apple has reached a new milestone. 25 billion songs have now been purchased on itunes. a customer in germany will receive a gift card worth more than $13,000 for the lucky download of mockey drums. that's the song he downloaded. 15,000 songs are downloaded on itunes every single minute. coffee lovers in new delhi rejoiced when starbucks opened a flagship store in india's capital. and monopoly has let the cat out of the bag. the iron is out and the cat is in. and fast food chains are cashing in on lower calorie menus pushing sales up by 5%. meanwhile, one mcdonald's australia is testing out table service complete with china, glass ware and cutlery. do you need that for a big mac?

and one out of four americans plan to spend more on valentine's day than last year. a man, 85 bucks and a woman, 48. you've still got several days to get ready for valentine's day. up next. sports highlights. plus, meet a nny who slapped a kid got her slapped by the law.

welcome back.

now to some other stories that caught our eye this morning. we start in new york where disturbing video shows a nanny slapping a 5-month-old for not eating. concerned parents installed a hidden camera. so when the mother saw what happened, she rushed home and fired the worker who is charged with resisting arrest. a chicken farmer has grown so close to his flock over the years he's become known around town as chicken boy. he's handled the chickens for so long, he's even picked up their language. >> it's like i just laid an egg in this box. come lay your leg. it's -- >> quite a talent. he plans to continue his education so some day he can become dr. chicken. on to georgia on a fatal pileup on a highway that left four dead and 27 others injured. four vehicles were involved

including a tanker which caught fire. and finally in new york, two australians took top places racing to the empire state building. runners raced up more than 1500 steps. winners had impressive times of 10 and 12 minutes each. in sports, another big upset in college basketball. number five 5 kansas suffered a second straight loss as texas christian got 17 points from garlon green. and fans celebrated by rushing the court. in world cup qualifying soccer, the u.s. gave up a goal in the 79th minute to honduras and lost 2-1. next, they will travel home to take on costa rica in a ten-game tournament that will be played through october. american skier ted maggette won super-g finishing in under

1:24. lance armstrong has been given a two-week extension to possibly work out an agreement to cooperate with the anti-doping agency. the agency is looking for full details on armstrong's drug usage to win seven tour de france titles. and a rare baseball card has been auctioned off for $92,000. the 148-year-old card was found in a yard sale in maine. just ahead, kim kardashian is packing serious heat. we've got the pictures. plus, a 7-year-old from alabama takes on one of the world's biggest battles. you'll meet him next on "early today."

all right. earlier i gave you the forecast methods from the american computer called the gfs. this is the euro predixctionpre. the european model says a foot plus from hartford, the worst of it in the boston/providence area. the american model saying five or six inches. there's question about how much air or rain is going to mix in. mara, you get the idea, traveling anywhere north of new york city, friday night, saturday morning, not recommended. well, kim kardashian's ongoing divorce just got a whole lot uglier. the mother to-be is reportedly asking for a speedy split saying, quote, i don't want to

be married to kris humphries when i have my baby. humphries' lawyers say she's just, quote, using her prelg nan pregnancy. >> and this gun disappeared from her twitter account. across the pond british prime minister david cameron has auctioned off a meet and greet with justin bieber. just one problem, the biebs had no idea this was happening. and finally, forbes has just released a list of the most disliked athletes in america. tiger woods makes the list. manti te'o got a spot thanks to the make believe woman in his life. and lance armstrong easily to the front of the pack to become america's most disliked. >> a-rod is pretty far down. >> among there, jay cutler. and he proposed to his

girlfriend via text message and mailed her the ring. i don't know how he got on the list. >> he and -- they butted heads. >> you're going apast my knowledge of sports. i am surprised manti te'o is on the list. there you go. this next one comes to us from wafs in huntsville, alabama. 7-year-old jean-marie jr. was with his mom when he noticed posters about suicide prevention. after learning what they meant, he launched his own campaign. the message is clear, anyone who wants help will get it. they just have to ask. >> i'm mara schiavocampo, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

>> you're watching wbal-tv 11. live, local, late-breaking. this is 11 news today at 5:00 a.m. >> good morning. we're off to a quiet start on this thursday. it is colder than yesterday. 21 in parkton. 26 in easton. increasing clouds or a mixture of sun and clouds. more clouds this afternoon. high temperature between 37 and 42 degrees. >> thank you. 4:56. details in some rallies in

annapolis. >> a bizarre incident at an anne arundel county school. a man is undergoing a psychiatric evaluation. >> michael jackson is convicted in the death of phylicia barnes -- michael johnson. >> we are

[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> you're watching wbal-tv 11. live, local, late-breaking. this is 11 news today at 5:00 a.m. >> at least you can sleep now. i said, are you ok? he is in disbelief. >> relief on one side