coming up on early today, the vortex returns. tens of millions of americans prepare for another winter blast. >> the reasoning behind the pentagon's plan to shrink our harmed forces. >> arizona burning. the rht to discriminate may become law but others are speaking out. >> plus drama on day one of kennedy's drug trial. and the comic genius that had a hand in some of the most quoted films in history has died. early today starts right now.

hello everybody, thanks for jous. i'm betty nguyen. i hope you enjoyed the spring-like weather this weekend because the polar vortex is b k back. it will be down to the 20s in parts of the south. yet another huge blast of winter is in store for tens of millions of americans. bill karins will have details on this in a minute. chuck hagel says the nation can't afford a military being smaller than before world war ii but only if it keeps it's technological edge. tracy potts is live in washington. will the army be able to respond as quickly in a time of crisis if it's smaller? >> well, yes. but the issue is if there's more than one controversy, more than

one arena where we need to respond, that could become a problem. what the military says is this, they want to keep enough people on hand to defend the homeland and fight one war at a time. the army would lose up to 80,000 soldiers though special operations forces would grow. the f 35 would replace slower machine expensive a-10s. drones would replace the spy planes and army training helicopters could be retired. >> we must innovate and make difficult decisions to ensure that our military is ready and capable. >> reporter: they would have to use 1% pay rising toward housing and other subsidies being cut. >> we're trying to solve our financial problems on the backs of our military and that can't be done. >> reporter: governors are concerned about the impact on their national guard. >> it could weaken our ability as commander and chiefs of the

national guard. >> reporter: the pentagon plan gets a stamp of approval from the white house. >> this plan is responsible and realistic and supports the president's defense strategies. >> reporter: one governor described the president's tone as aggressive. >> don't start coming in and now complaining these cuts are effecting you. you said you wanted it. now you're going to get it. >> reporter: military families are concerned it could make it harder to recruit. >> they might not even want me as a pilot which, in-turn, scares me because that's what i want to do. >> reporter: if congress renews the sequester in 2016, expect even deeper cuts. deeper cuts like slicing another 20,000 soldiers on top of these cuts they are looking at right now. so it looks like the pentagon is trying to look forward and let congress let lawmakers on capitol hill here know they could be looking at even more. >> it will be interesting. thank you tracy. the hunt is on for ukraine's

fugitive president. he is wanted for murder in the deaths of scores of antigovernment protestors last week. this as the world watches to see how russia reacts. jim is live in moscow for us this morning. what's the latest on his where abouts? where is he? >> good morning, betty. well, his whereabouts are still unknown. he hasn't been spotted or heard from really since driving out of his residence, his private residence on sunday with a few body guards and one of his friends. there's been a flurry of rumors about where he is since. that he was on a ship sailing to russia or hiding in a monetary in friendly eastern ukraine but still no sign of him though he is believed to be inside ukraine and not in russia. in any case, russian analysts say his political career is definitely over. he has even lost now russia's

backing as well. as ukraine now enters the phase of this new revolutionary interim government which should be named later today, all eyes are on vladimir putin, what will he do next? a build up of russian forces beyond the border with ukraine before it's denied by russia and ukraine. they supported nonintervention with ukraine on all sides but experts say putin will have to do something to save face after losing that political battle. back to you. >> and the world is watching. thank you, jim. in arizona pressure is mounting over a controversial new bill i. will allow businesses to deny services to gays and lesbians based on beliefs. they're urging her to veto the

bill. john mccain tweeting i hope governor brewer will veto. three state senators who voted in favor of the bill last week have changed course. they say they now oppose it. >> it was a mistake and a miscalculation. we had no idea there would be the fall out like there has been because frankly we voted on the same bill a year ago and sent it up to the governor and she vetoed it. >> and then there's this. the arizona super bowl host committee has come out against the bill. so has marriott and american airlines. even apple which is preparing to open a new glass manufacturing plant in mesa. testimony scheduled to resume today in the high profile trial of carrie kennedy. she crashed after taking a sleep

medicine and getting behind the wheel. kennedy was swerving on the highway before hitting the truck. a second witness said after the accident she was slumped over the wheel. her mother and other members of his family attended the trial which is north of new york city. >> the world has lost a comedy icon. actor, writer, and director harold ramis died monday with complications from an auto immune disease. he was the man that brought us beloved comedies like animal house and groundhog day and you may have heard of caddyshack which issidere one of the greatest comedies of all time. bill murray who costarred with ramis said harold earned his keep on the planet. god bless him. >> you may remember him from this on screen performance in ghost busters. >> well, let's say this twinkie

represents the normal amount of connectic energy in the new york area. according to this morning's sample it would be 35 feet long weighing approximately 600 pounds. >> that's a big twinkie. >> indeed. well, a makeshift memorial outside the new york ghostbusters firehouse included what else? a twinkie. harold ramis was 69. >> the drought has hit historic levels drying out much of california and it's only getting worse. imagines from nasa show the extreme lack of snow covering the state. rain is in the forecast this week which will help but it's still not enough to solve the problem. public school administrators in the state have been asked to dramatically cut back on water use at facilities from kindergartens to community colleges. let's see if there's relief in sight. a lot of pressure this morning. one coast needs the rain and the other needs the heat.

>> we need heat. we need april. march doesn't look promising at this point. >> that dreaded words, polar vortex. >> i was just trying to explain it. you can never feel the polar vortex, it occurs up above. it acts more like a traffic cop and sends the cold air in different locations. had time its all set up through canada and down through the northern u.s. look at the temperatures this morning. we're at minus 25 in fargo and this latest arctic blast will be the worst in the northern plains where the cold has been all winter long. it will remain. especially our friends in wisconsin, mississippi and the dakotas. the northeast will actually have a mild period compared to the northern plains. here's how it's going to play out t. white is the coldest, the purple isn't fun, the blue isn't so bad. it still sets up on thursday.

the same locations. friday will be the coldest day in the northeast but then toward the weekend it reinforces itself and once again pokes it's nose into the northern plains. that's why the worst of the arctic outbreak will be for our friends in the northern plains. that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. >> so today as far as the temperatures go, florida is a good place to be. tampa, 77 degrees today. that's not bad. memorial service sits not bad at 50. but you can see where the cold air remains from chicago up to minneapolis. look at chicago, only 19. >> yeah, i mean, we're used to it. we have all of our winter gear but it doesn't mean that we like it. >> i'm so over this. >> i know. >> all right, bill, thank you. well, a puzzling polio-like disease has strucken children with paralyzing symptoms. we have that next. and a photo gone terribly wrong.

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welcome back, everybody. researchers, they are puzzled by a possible virus that is causing a polio-like syndrome in california children. in a news conference on monday, doctors said about 20 case as piered in the last 18 months. this mystery sickness is causing children to experience partial paralysis in their arms and legs. after a productive weekend, the governors got into a war of words at a press conference. >> what i worry about is that this president of the white house seems to be waiving the white flag of surrender. i think we can do better than that. >> there are differences here and you just heard what i think ended up being probably the most partisan statement that we've had all weekend. if that was the most partisan statement he's heard all weekend i want to make sure he hears a more partisan statement which is

i think we can grow the economy more if we delay the mandates. >> people are recovering from injuries after a family christmas photo that went horribly wrong. 24 people fell 15 feet to the ground after a deck collapsed in southern indiana. this family is suing the makers of the deck. >> in house news, it sounds like something from a sci-fi movie. the fda is approving a technique that could create babies from the dna of three people. it's aimed at preventing mothers from passing on debilitating diseases to their children but it could be a slippery slope to designer babies. >> time to get down to business, samsung unveiled it's latest edition of their galaxy line. the f-5 phone and smart watches were revealed. it has a single print scanner

for mobile payment and it's water proof, dustproof, and has an improved camera. >> taco bell is diving full force into the $50 billion limited service breakfast business. the menu will be unveiled on march 27th and it includes a waffle wrapped around eggs and cheese with either bacon and sausage or syrup. i wish i could show that to you. it's making us hungry here. >> well, the white mustache got mo milk campaign has been replaced with milk life. it will show the nutritional benefits while grabbing attention. and oil prices maybe about to rise because of continuing consolidation and increasing global demand. one analyst predicts it could reach $140 barrel. sports still ahead including a new mlb rule and more results from the nfl combine.

plus a penalty shot during a soccer game has a very lucky spin. you have to see it to believe it. a golfer gets himself out of a situation. stay tuned. [ female announcer ] we'll cook all day today, but we're not staying in the kitchen. just start the slow cooker, add meat and pour in campbell's slow cooker sauce. by the time you get home, dinner is practically done. and absolutely delicious. everyone is cooking with new campbell's slow cooker sauces. i prefer today. [ female announcer ] new clairol age defy color collection. with our best breakthrough gray coverage.

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this morning on today, one-on-one with angelina jolie. she sits down with tom brokaw for a share interview and discusses the man that inspired

her latest film. now let's get the latest in sports from richard lui. >> good tuesday. syracuse drops to number four in the rankings up by 12. minutes left against unranked maryland. but they give it all back. maryland trying to tie. they miss, syracuse survives 57-55. yeah, smith again not scared by the $50,000 fine he got for untying his opponent's shoe laces. this time him pulling down his opponent's head band. me, i didn't do it. >> what? >> let's talk about the game with seconds left. talk about slomo. he gets it. major league baseball's new rule could help avoid home plate collision injuries. catchers cannot block the plate without the ball. take the nfl combine, he came

out as gay this month and didn't do well on the field. his 40 yard dash and bench press wrg bo ing were both disappointing. clowney did better. fastest for any defensive lineman helping the argument for a high first round draft pick there. >> french soccer, score tied and the goalkeeper blocking it straight up into the air. he starts to walk away. >> what? >> the back spin takes it into the goal. >> oh. >> the victory. >> this is a golfer that just would not give up. first hacking through cactus needles and a tv cable for par and then wedging the bar out -- that's the first shot, out from under a bush and some rocks. >> are you kidding? that was nice. >> despite all of that he loses at the end. he just would not go down.

he didn't win, though. >> we're talking about him so he won something. just ahead, the tonight show's jimmy fallon is doing what no other tonight show host has done before to book a guest. that's next. which rewards her for responsibly managing her card balance. before receiving $25 toward her balance each quarter for making more than her minimum payment on time each month. tracey got the bankamericard better balance rewards credit card, which fits nicely with everything else in life she has to balance. that's the benefit of responsibility. apply online or visit a bank of america near you. eww! eww! [ moderator ] how would you deal with them? umm... ninjas. [ male announcer ] no need for ninjas. reduce up to 95% of inanimate allergens becoming airborne from fabrics with new, dermatologist tested, febreze allergen reducer.

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it quits. the couple had a son together in 2010. after a back and forth on twitter with the chicago mayor jimmy fallon agreed to participate in the polar plunge. late night with seth meyers debuted last night. he had amy poehler as his first guest. emma thompson keeps her gold statue in the bathroom. sandra bullock gaclaims she gav hers to her son and only he knows where it is. >> where would you put yours? >> in the middle of the living room. i would walk around with that thing every day. i'm betty nguyen. this is "early today." we hope it's just your first stop of the day on nbc. [ male announcer ] even ragu users a.

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right now on "news4 today," the fight over decriminalizing marijuana is heating up in the district. the decision that could make it yours. and pushing to get the redskins back in d.c. good morning, i'm aaron gilchrist. >> and i'm eun yang. it is tuesday, february 25th, 2014. right now more winter weather is moving in behind this system that could impact your commute tomorrow. >> tom kieran is here with the impact the system will have on us. good morning, tom. we have two chances of snow, the first one coming in.

storm team 4 scanning the sky, maybe a few flurries here moving across the bay heading over to cambridge and easton. we are talking 8:30 to 9:00 in the morning, a little bit of the light snow getting right into the metro area. ahead of that we have cold temperatures greeting you this morning. you need your warm winter coat. we are below freezing in the 20s. most of the region except at reagan national is at 35. right near the bay waters it is generally in the low to mid-30s in southern maryland. farther west, it's a frigid morning out in the mountains. shenandoah valley, many locations are in the low to mid-20s. we'll check on our traffic this morning with dry pavement around. do we have any trouble, danella? just tracking construction, no big delays but we'll start along i-95 in the hov lanes at

the springfield interchange. right lane blocked by the earlier work zone. that should clear at 5:00 a.m. now we'll head over to the district, new york avenue at florida avenue, road work here with cones up blocking the right lane. but very light volume traveling outbound. inbound is nice and clear. on the beltway at branch avenue, the earlier work zone was tying up three right lanes. it is now gone. in both directions on the outer loop and inner loop, lanes are open. aaron and eun? 4:28. and today closing arguments are expected in the trial of a former sunday school charged in a deadly road rage case. lee sana testified it was righteous indignation not road rage that led him to go after william o'brien. sana told police that o'brien through the first punch and sana hit back in self-defense. o'brien died ten days later.

sana said he followed o'brien to the parking lot because o'brien was honking at him. today a judge is set to come up with a retrial date after a key witness recanted his testimony. justin wolfe was convicted for the 2001 murder for hire of a drug supplier. wolfe remains in prison. 4:29 now. we'll learn if d.c. voters will decide if it is legal to have small amounts of marijuana in the district. the d.c. bureau of elections will look at the issue to put on november's ballot. the proposal would break a federal law to ban the district from offering public housing to anyone charged with marijuana offenses. if you have an outstanding warrant in the state of maryland, you may not get your tax return. that's what the state comptroller has expanded statewide. a pilot plan is operating in

anne arundel county. today sheriffs across the state will push lawmakers to expand the program. today you can let the d.c. council know what you think about the plan to bring the redskins back to the district. six council members unveiled the plan in november to transform rfk stadium into a 100,000-seat domed complex. this also calls for a redesign in the langston golf course and an indoor water park. they hope this not only brings the redskins back to the d.c., but it would also attract the super bowl and the olympics. >> a lot of people have been saying since it is the washington redskins that they should play in washington. >> if they can pull off a complex like that, there could be potential. 4:31, time for weather and traffic on the ones. tom said there's two chances for snow.