♪ i love the way you lie >> that's all for now. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thanks for joining us. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com this morning on earth, wide open. the republican presidential race shifts to florida after a stunning victory by newt gingrich in south carolina. remembering a legend. fans mowers the loss of famed coach joe paterno. and death dive, a come met has a fatal encounter with the sun. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with anybody's ball game. the gop presidential contest is heating up in the sunshine state where mitt romney is hoping that releasing tax returns will help

him reclaim his front-runner status after being beaten in south carolina on saturday. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with all of this. tracie, good morning. >> lynn, good morning. good morn, everybody. since ron paul has essentially decided not to compete in florida it's winner take all. the winner gets all of the state's delegates this summer. that means this is essentially a three-way race between mitt romney, newt gingrich, and rick santorum. romney who said he wouldn't release his tax information until april, now under pressure from newt gingrich has decided to release those records this week with an estimate of his 2011 taxes. rick santorum also says he'll release his this week. gingrich already has. so that will round it out for the three who are competing in florida. they've got a debate there tonight. and newt gingrich in an nbc interview on "meet the press"

indicated yesterday there are issues he wants answers from romney, mainly his massachusetts health care plan and more about his investments with bain capital. romney in the interim is now focusing on gingrich's record in washington when he was here working for both congress and freddie mac. back to you, lynn. >> tracie potts for us in washington. tracie, thank you. and don't miss tonight's nbc's republican presidential debate. it's moderated by brian williams live from the university of florida tampa bay and it begins at 9:00 p.m. eastern on this nbc station. arizona congress won gabriel rah give fords is resigning from congress. since then giffords has been in rehab learning to speak and walk again, but that job is not complete, and she will step down to focus on her recovery. nbc's jay gray has the latest. >> reporter: it was just over a year ago that the gunshots rang out in tucson.

six people killed, a dozen injured, including arizona congresswoman gabrielle giffords shot in the head at point range. >> they don't remember much from that horrible day, but i will never forget the trust you leave in me to be your voice. >> reporter: a voice rarely heard since the attack, a voice that this weekend announced after five years in congress, her public career would be put on hold. >> i will step down this week. >> reporter: in the youtube video, giffords says she needs to focus on her continuing recovery and do what's right for arizona. news of her decision spread quickly. president obama released a statement late sunday saying giffords and her husband ads trow naught mark kelly, quote, have taught us true meaning in the hope of the face of despair,

determination in the face of incredible ods. >> i'm getting better. >> reporter: it's already been an incredible recovery, but giffords insists she's not done and promises we will hear that voice for years to come. >> i will return. >> reporter: jay gray, nbc news. and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. it's a muddy mess near seattle. a wall of mud came pouring into three homes in belvieu sunday, lifting one car high enough to press it into the roof of a garage. a water main break may be to blame. near chicago an illinois man is recovering after accidentally shooting a 3 1/2-inch nail into his brain. it's almost painful to say that. it happened while the man was doing construction with a nail gun at his home. even after the accident, he kept on working for hours. he didn't even go into the hospital until the next day f doctors say the nail came within millimeters of the part of the

brain that controls motor function. unre unreal. in detroit, a chilling message delivered via motorcade. more than a dozen mortgage areas joined forces and drove hearses through some of the most dangerous parts of the city. they're trying to call attention to the 10% increase in homicides last year, which claimed 308 victims. and finally some badly needed help for a pair of kittens injured during birth. here's your ahh video of the day. one kitten named braveheart had its leg amputated but the animal shelter was able to attach a prosthetic leg and the kittens are playing together and they'll go up for adoption. it won't be a hard sell. for your national weather we check in with meteorologist bill karins. good morning, bill. did you have a good weekend? >> it was okay. little man weren't sledding for the first time. >> he got a taste of the snow.

how did he like it? >> it was okay. >> it takes a while. it's cold. >> it was sleeting in his face. it made for good pictures. some day i'll be a good dad. good morning, everyone. overnight we had strong storms moving through the deep south. one area of arkansas got hit the hardest. about two homes destroyed. there were a couple injuries reported. and as far as the storms go, thankfully haven't heard of any fatalities. again, we're still getting assessments now because the storms have been happening since dark, overnight hours, and now we've had 11 tornado reports, 100 reports of tornado weather. we continue to watch the storms this morning. right now the worst of them are going through the heart of alabama, down through 59 and interstate 20. the storms have already passed through the national area. it was a really nasty storm a couple of hours ago. there are tornado warnings in

meridian and alabama. there's even a little bit of snow on the backside of it, wisconsin, and watch out for freezing drizzle today, pennsylvania and virginia. so it's a very active weather morning on this monday. that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. well, we're going to watch the warm temperatures. i mean it's very strange to have a chance for thunderstorms in the ohio valley in the middle of january, but that's the case today. wet weather will finally give way to nicer weather late in memphis today later this afternoon. this is like our second or third tornado outbreak we've had in january, something that doesn't usually happen that often. all right, bills. thanks so much. coming up, changes in research in motion. gas prices rice and warren buffett's exchange. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus the underdog film steals the thunder from the top dog at the box office.

the patriots survive, the giants need overtime, and remembering the life and times of football legend joe paterno. you're watching earth.

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry and here are some of your top headlines this morning. at least 178 people were killed in attacks by islamics insurgents in nigeria. they were targeting police stations. >> after 33 years in power in yemen, departing president ali abdullah salei has left the country and is headed to the u.s. for medical treatment. he was badly burned during a rocket attack on his compound last summer at the height of the protest calling for him to resign. they propose that power is handed over to a new government. they had asked the u.n. security government to endorse the plan

but syria immediately rejected it. a 13th victim has been recovered from the cruise ship that went aground off the coast of italy. at least 19 people are still missing but one rescue official says that number could be higher because unregistered passengers might have been on board. and for the very first time technology has observed a come met being vaporized as it approached the sun back on july 6th. the come met which was about the size of an aircraft carrier burned in about 20 minutes. here's a hack at one of your top health headlines on msn nb nbc.com. the federal government is cutting back on health care reimbursements to cut down on health care costs. beyonce and jay-z's baby was born in a hospital where they reportedly paid up to a million to take up a floor. for this and other health stories you can check out the health page on msnbc.com.

th is brought do you by the advantavagisil screening kit. the dow opens at 12,720 after gaining 96 points on friday. the s&p added a fraction. the nasdaqs with down a point. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei lost just a smidge and in hong kong the hang seng rose 167. barring any big surprises a foray of earnings are bound to draw the biggest buzz on wall street this week. a dozen dow companies and about a quart over the s&p 500 will weigh in with fourth quarter results including industry heavyweights apple, boeing, mcdonald's and procter & gamble. an economic outlook from ben bernanke will be high on investors' minds this week. fourth quarter gdp is due out fred. broader growth is expected to come in around 3%, the fastest pace since the second quarter

20610. blackberry maker research in motion has announced its co-ceos are stepping down. apache energy is buying cora for nearly $3 billion to soak up some 250,000 acre of fresh fracing plays in the endarko basin. the average price for a regular gallon of gas-inched up over the last two weeks. the price of a first-class stamp is now up to 45 cents after rising for the first time in 2 1/2 years yesterday. no fancy hotels for occupiers in switzerland. they're building ig glues to help protesters in davos. and finally, warren buffett showed up on chinese state tv with unique greeting for the new year. the billionaire investor strummed and sang "i've been working on the railroad" on his ukulele. and that is your random news for the day.

well, coming up, if you want to know about the agony of defeat, just ask the baltimore ravens. plus, the new york giants and the san francisco 49ers stage yet another classic playoff battle. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. we don't have a lot of winter weather to talk about this week, but we will have some severe storms. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports, joe paterno who coached penn state's nittany lions for 46 years and was the winningest coach in major college football history died this weekend. here's nbc's mario solis with a look at all your headlines. good morning. we again with the news out of state college, pennsylvania. legend football coach joe paterno passed away yesterday. the winningest football coach yesterday lost his battle with lung cancer yesterday morning. coach for 46 years won 400 games and 200 championships. he was amid a child sex abuse scandal involving his former assistant coach jerry sandusky. his health deteriorated and he's been in the hospital. he passed away surrounded by family sunday morning.

thousands gathered for a cand candlelight vigil. joe paterno was 85 years old. he would have lost the championship games yesterday, each going down to the wire. we begin in san francisco. a battle between the niners and giants. alex smith airs it out for vernon davis, a perfects to, vernon's seconds to gives the 49ers the second lead. the giants would answer in the forth after a fumbled recovery. eli manning throws a dart to manuel manningham. three minutes in, the giants get the break they needed. kyle williams fumbles the ball, and new york recovers. moments later lawrence time cents the giants too the super bowl with a 31-yard field goal. new york win as thriller in overtime. hard to top that but the pats and ravens came pretty close. third quarter, joe flacco hitting tori smith and he does

the rest. baltimore takes the lead with a 24-yard touchdown. brady leaping over the pile. new england up 23-20. like the afc, this championship coming down to a field goal. a 31-yarder to force overtime and he shanks it. patriots survive, 23-20. they will play the giants in super bowl 46. >> reporter:. that's a look at. another show business couple bites the dust and alec baldwin's weight loss secret. your early morning entertainment headlines straight ahead. some children dream of protecting this way. believe it or not other kids have espionage in mind. you're watching "early today."

. good monday morning, welcome back to "early today." just in the last ten minutes hearing reports of two tornados that have been on the ground doing damage on the border of mississippi and alabama and then into alabama on interstate 20, and those storms are continuing as we go through the morning. anyone around the birmingham area and eventually montgomery toward atlanta, pay attention to your nbc station as the strong storms roll through. a lot of heavy rain through the east and ohio valley at you go throughout the day. if you're watching us on wvit in hartford, connecticut. this has been held since 1953 at

centuries of progress american world's fairs at the stamford museum & nature center. thanks so much. now here's look at this morning's early entertainment headlines. as expects, 3-d and imax showing of kate beckinsale's awakening took first place with over $25 million. but the second one red tals surprising everyone taking in over $19 million, almost doubling expectations. elsewhere in a statement last night seal and heidi klum confirmed they're separated. before britmy spears upcoming wed her father will go to court to drop his legal control over her affairs. >> tmz reports tracy morgan was rushed to a hospital from the sundance film fevl due to what his rep calls a combination of

exhaustion and altitude. and 53-year-old alec baldwin said he lost 33 pounds in four pounds be i not eating sugar and he said 30 rock will be back again in some form next year. >> it also works if you eat let us leaves and ice chips. >> this comes to us from wrcnbc 4 in washington. kids were invited to learn tricks of the trade at the annual spy museum's annual spyfest. the children were put in disguises and tried their hand at dusting for finger prints, deciphering colded messages, analyzing handwriting messages and even tips on how to spot liars. i'm lynn berry. this is your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

4:28 is our time now. we have 34 degrees, and look at that fog. that's going to be a major part of the story this morning. good morning to you, i'm joe krebs. >> i'm eun yang. welcome to "news4 today" for this monday, january 23, 2012. right now a number of schools and businesses are opening late this morning. that list includes the federal government. it has listed an 11:00 a.m. late arrival, plus unscheduled leave and telework. d.c. government and middle schools will open on time. in virginia, alexandria and prince william county schools will open two hours late.

stafford county schools will also open two hours late, and there is no morning kindergarten. in west virginia, jefferson county schools open two hours late, jefferson and morgan county. even though the predicted freezing rain missed most of us, crews were out all night as a precaution. over 700 trucks were out in fairfax county, prince william, and loudoun countys. they were treating areas that usually freeze. whether ice, rain, or fog, transportation officials want to remind all drivers to use caution this morning. >> take your time, don't rush. you'll get where you're going. the main thing is you want to get there safely. >> vdot says it will have crews out throughout the morning and urged drivers to delay their commute until after the morning rush hour if you possibly can. let's see whether there's -- what's it look like now in terms of the possibility of freezing still on the roads?