ts morning on "early today,"white house shake-up. president obama tapped former commerce sretary william daley as his new chief of staff safety concerns, the us. warrants hundreds of u.s. rits activists and forei diplomas named by wikileaks. and ancrs away. a decommissioned u.s. navalshi is sent to its final resting a decommissioned u.s. navalshi is sent to its final resting place. captions paid for by nbc-uversal television hello and good mornin to you i'm veronica de cruz. today, we begin with a n chief

in thehouse. president obama h named a new chief of staff, pitical managerwilliam daley. brian moore joins us now live from washington with the ltest on that as well as a busy day in congress yesterday. brian, good morning to you. >> good morning, veronica. william daley may sound famy. it's a member of chicago's named polical family and the former commerce seetary. this is a signal to the business community th the president is not anti-business. thiss certainly a change t the white house. it wasn't th changeany democratsere expecting the president to make. moving on tohe congressional budget office in a report that the repeal the health care reform out of theouse of represeatives, it's a long shot, but if it happens, it cou add $230 billi to the term de federal deficit over the next dece. jo boehner is brushing tat

report offnd saying he's going ahead on the repeal of obama care. republicans did go ahead yesterday and read the constitution the housefloor. but it wasn't the full constitution they cut some historic corners leaving out those parts that were somewt unfortunate in t sweep of history like the part about slaves be three-fths of a person. finally, two republicans left theirparty a bit red faced on the floor yesterday. it turn out theyhadn't officily been sworn in. >> veryinteresting. brian moore in washington. breen, thanks. for the first time since the 9/11 terr attacks, the ntagon laid out plans to reduce spending and reduce the size of the military. yesterday, roberts gates announc $78 billion in spending cuts. the proposals includes reducing military levels and raising retiree benefits. gates said the department is not

expt from belt tightening just because of his duties to defend the nation. citing an italian news organization, countless doves have ben found dead in italy. although there has been a lot of speculaon behind the cause, biologists sa the reality is that these die offs hpen all the time with 95 recordedin north america alone over the past eight mohs. so wa is happening this time? well, one famed harvard biologist says mass media, particular the internet, is simply giving the die-offs more attenon. >> now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. california police are looking for two armed suspects who attempted toob a food truckdriver. the menapproached the truck window. one was holding a gun and grabbed the ip jar. the clerk gbbed it back and hid. the suspects ft empty hand.

a walmart employee is recovering after a blow to the fa with a ja of cheese. a man who was previously asd to leave ran down the sle toward an employee. he grabbed the j and hurled it at the employee but missed, hitting woman instead. now he's wanted by the police. and a half ton live siz butter sculpture is on display at the annual pennsylvania darely show despicketing children playing on a jungle gym. the art isupposed to symboli the dairy industry's support of the nfl'scampaign encouraing kids to be active and to eat healthier. > now for a look at your natnal and region weather, here is nbc meteorogist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. bill, i mean, i don't know, how much snse does th make? 1,000 pounds of butter, eat right, be healthy. >> usually at the state fair you don't get things like that.

tha was impressiv >> where is t butter cow? >> theater. let's talk about is storm coming throu the great lakes and of the east coast. we'll pay attention to h much snow is ing toall in certain areas. this is not a blocuster storm system. it's very unorganized, to say the least. wehave a fast and de jet strea that means cold air is heading down into florida over the next couple of days. we have two big ocean storms. those are far off the coast. back behind it,e've got two weak storms. there's a lot of areas of lght ow, including areas in the appalachians, the high terrain the appalachians going to get significant snow. we have snow showers poppg up around pittsburgh and through central penylvania, buffalo, clevand, and eventuallythis will rote through philadelphia, new york, hartfd, providence and boston. it's going t be during the daylight hrs today. t only banding of snow we're seeing is from harrisburg rough williamsport and this will come through new york city sometime around noon, maybe

2:00. our computers are estimating not a blockbuster snow event. only to 3 inches total for the whole tomorrow from phill to bosn. this is nothing. it will be during the afternoon hours, so you may want to give yourself extra time driving home. the on significant snow is up around the southern adirondcks and through the catskill chilly wn in the southeast and very cold in the northern plains. that's a look at your forecast. now here is a look at the weather outde your window. we're going to continue to watch that storm system moving through areas like even wasngton, d.c. we're not really calling for any significant snow around d.c but you willrobably e snowflakes during the day. but at 37 degrees, that wot be an issue. cold in indianpolis today. only 25. weeke forecast coming up, veronica. >> 1 to 3 inches. >> that's it. >> all right, bill, thanks. unemployment uncertainty,

facebook's future and how to ruin a college student's holiday. your early morning business hedlines are straight ahead. plus, the good news keeps rolling in for the homess man with the golden voic >> comi up, rex ryan did i ss tom brady. stford gets lucky and a hockey st that you've never seen befo. you're watching "early today."

>> good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm veronica de la cruz. here are some of your p headlines this morning. the u.s. state department is warning hundreds human rights acvists, foreign government officials and business people identified in published wikileaks cables of potential threats their safety. administration officials have moed a handful of them to safer locations amid fear they may be attacked or imprisoned as a direct resu of the disclosure. in the country's first

execution of the year, last night the statef oklama put to dath a 39-year-old man convicted of killing a store clerkn a robbe. billy verson was one of four me found guilty of the 89 murder. a u.s. navy ship has a new home in the bottom of the ocean. e sunken vessel will now serve as an artificial reef and tourist attraction. and a wshington state couple a the envy of t nation this morning after comng forwa tolaim half of t $380 million mega million jackpot. the retired boeing worker and his wife who are the parents of six and grandparents of 23 say their plans for the new money include buying a new home andn rv. cgratulations to em. >> and now here's an earl look at one of yur top health headlines. most men have pblems dealing th crying women.

men who e a woman's tears experience a dip in testosterone. the event occurred wn men didn't know what they we snfing, tears. for more informatn on this an other health stories, he to the web and check out the health page online at msnbc.com. >> and nowere's an early look at how wa street will kick off the day. the dow opens a 11,697 after dipping 25 points yesterday. the s&p shed 2 points. the nas dam rose 7. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in toky, the nikkei a 11 points. in hong kong, the hang ng fell 99. the answer to whether wall street's recent rallyhas a strength he going could lie in today's jobs report.

first time jobs claims ticked higher last week added uncertainty to today's mo upbeat employment report. traders weret exactly in buying mood thsday after retailers reported weaker than expecd holiday sales, blaming the blizzard of 2010. target, gap and macy's all fell. meanwhile, agricultural productsmaker mon santo added 2% after reporting gher sales are helping it rake in profits once again. microsoft announced its n tablet and smartphone technology will contain chips madey gland's arm oldings. the move receivers microsoft ties wth intel in favor of the same chip found in app's ipho a ad. grhics specialist nividia got a boost by aligning self with arms shares technology. overseas this morning, shares of

samsung dipp after a wker than expected earningsestimat spelation is swirling faceok could be inching closer to going public next ye. the social network revealed plans to increa its shareholder above 500 which would require facebook t disclose key financl data or go public. finally, if you tink that your lidays are stressful, listen to this. officials at cal state l.a. are apologizing for mistakenly meal e-mailing 5,000 students to say they had been disqualified from attending next quarter. stanfo keeps its lucky charm. the nfl playoffs are set to begin and thepoman rings twice in hockey. the lightning's star player brings t thunder. your early morningports headlines are just ahead. >> ld air in areas snow

will continue right throughhe weend. that forecast is come up. you're watching "early today." ib

good morng. ifou're just wakinup, this is "early today. in spor, stanford just completed its best football season i school history and, as it turns out, tir luck hasn't run out. here's nbc's fred roggin with an

early lk at all your sports headlin. go morning. asf the season wasn't tough enough for the carolina panthers, e team finishedith the worst record in the nfl an was going to draf stanford quartback andrew luck first overall. andrew has decided to complete his senior year at stanford to complete his degree. will coach jim harbaugh take less money to stay in northern cafornia? the jets travel to dy to play the colts. jets coach rexyan knowse'll have his hands full wi peyton manning and didn't miss an opportunity to take a shot at tom brady. >> thi is who he is. the guy is tremendous. there's nobody like this guy in the league. noby studies like him and all that. i know brady thin he does and all that stuff. i thinkhere he is there's probably a little more help from

belicheck wth brady than there is with peyton manning, but it's peyton manning, you know? that's who it is >>hould be a fun weekend of otball. baskeall dirk nowitzki sat out a third straight game and the mavericks missed him. in ththird quarter, thunder was down by one. to the fourth, durant doing it all by himself, game high 28. hunder won it, 99-95. finally, a junior league hockey game in iowa. andrew fichano hit the puck so hard that when it split the post, it split into two pieces. i've nev seen that before. need proof? here is th puck. sliced right down the middle. and , you don't get two points fothat. that's your early look asports on "early today." have a great weekend. i'm fred roggin. another embarrassing mugshot of a misbehaving celebrity. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus web may look like your

avage high school student, but he'll see, his anything but. you're watchi "early today."

elcome back on this friday. let me take you throughyour weekend forecast. ght snow tod for areas of i 4695. mabe 1 to 3 inches from philly nework city, providence up into boston. cold in the midwest. the southeast wi get cold,

too. colder aiis heading for atlanta. notice only 10 in minneapolis. it's very cold middle of january here in the middle of the nation. you're going to see some rain breaking out is will be our next storm t track. it's going to start with sunday wi rain into new orles, houston and dallas. this coulde the next snowstrm hding up into the east coat. if you're watching us on rz channel buffalo, new york, see expansive exhibit of paintings that capture the local historicandscape at time shape at the virtsfield arts center. good day for the museum in buffalo? >> ah. as long as you can get there. a little slippy, but they're used to it. nohere's a look at this morning headlines in entertainment. the beau office, "true grit" will bate "little focrs" for number one. nicholas cage isn' expted to help the medieval saga.

"season of the witch" earned more than $10 million. "country rong" isn't expected to earn double digit millions. elsewhere, a judgeismissed drug convictions against howard k. stern and her physician. add jamie presley to the mugot hall o shame. sh was busted on dui charges in anta monica andeleased on $15,000 bail. finally, in yet anotherappy chapter of the inspiringstory of the golden voice homeless man, ted williams, msnbc announced williams recorded voiceovers for its lean forward mpaign. msnbc said willis embodied the very same ides that the lean forward campaign spks to highlight. bill, let'shear your msnb the plae for politics. >> i don't really ve that -- unless i have a cod, i don't really have thateep voice.

>> you don't really sound like ted williams. >> he has a graed great voice. this comes to us from wluv t6 in marquette, michigan. one hh school udent's determination has ma his an inspiration. codyas been wheelcir bound since he was 5, but his disabity doesn't stand in his way from playing high school football. heis not only an set tthe tea but an inspiration to his community. now inspiring the nation, he is the only player from michigan's upper peninsula nominated for a national athletic award. i love stories like that. we report bad news all the time, it's so nice to hear some good news. >>vercoming obstacles. t makes me not wanto colain. i'm veronica de la cruz and this is "early today," justyour first stop of the day tay on your nbc station.

d.a. our time right n is 4:28, 35 degrees here in the naon's capital. a live lk over the whington scene right now. we'r scanning the sky for snow. is falling in some areas. we're going to take a liveook at i-270 a 370 in ryland. at's where the snow is falling. and you can s some of the work trucks out there with flashing lights the's certnly going to be enough snow to slow down the morning rushour and an date on the forecast and on the roadsust ahead. we'll have all that for

you. good morning. i joe krebs >>'m eun yang. welcome to news 4 onhis january 7th, 2011 d.a. a letter tovernor martin o'malley ignited. 20 minutes later, anotheretter ig nated at the headquarters in hanover. one of the packages isxpected to be taken to its lab in quantico to be examined. news 4's darcy spencer has more from annapolis >> this is the package oped by that employee,ddressed to governor o'mall. >> reporter: two packages were open in