you are the executive director of the greater birmingham ministry's in alabama birmingham alabama, okay. which is advocating overturn of hb 56. what is this bill? >> hb 56 is alabama's new anti-immigrant law that burdens families, breaks up families, forces the split up of families, burdens taxpayers and makes law enforcement take on the extra job of checking out people at traffic stops. >> stephen: okay. i mean you say burdens, splits, what it does is, is that it removes illegal immigrants from your state. it is tough on crime s it not? >> this law-- . >> stephen: is it a crime to be an illegal immigrant? >> it is-- . >> stephen: is it a crime. >> if a federal crime-- not a state crime. >> stephen: oh so, we don't want the feds marching into alabama. they did that 150 years ago, it didn't work out too well. >> the part is that alabama should not be joining one of those states that has its own state immigrant law. we don't need 50 immigrant laws across the united states of america. we need one comprehensive law that is just and fair for everyone. (cheers and applause) >> stephen: we tal

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 birminghamrea 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 exhaus

alabama and are pushing into georgia. birmingham, alabama, this is just part of suburban birmingham where we have at least two people killed in the birmingham, alabama, area. a 16-year-old boy, an 82-year-old man. this in jefferson county. this damage you're looking at is at center point, alabama, which is northeast of birmingham. as these systems have pushed through, we have a severe risk of severe storms from louisiana all the way to atlanta. as this system pushes in. and as you look on the radar, we've got a severehunderstorm watch. and i should say now a tornado watch for central alabama till 11:00 a.m. in georgia till 4:00 this afternoon. we could be looking at anywhere from dangerous lightning, winds and gusty hail. so we are going to be really watching this over the next 12 hours. matt? >> we'll get your local forecast coming up in just a moment. thank you very much. >>> now to the battle for florida as the gop presidential race heats up on the heels of newt gingrich's big win in south carolina. nbc's peter alexander's live in tampa for us this morning. hi, peter. >> reporter: matt, good morning to you. after getting badly beaten in south car

alabama, the carolinas. foggy this morning. in birmingham and alabama. flurries from the great lakeses to maine. >> 40s across much of the midwest. 45 in boston. 43, new york. 80, miami. phoenix, 65. albuquerque, 45. colorado springs, 54. >> all right a, it happens to many little boys. >> let's end it right there. >> you fill in the blank. >> find a wild animal. nurse it to health. then they have to let it go. for one boy in colombia, south america, the animal is a bear cub he found playing with his dog near the house. hey, mom, can i bring the bear cub home. >> he took care of her for several weeks until finally his parents called authorities. that say the cub is probably just 3 months old and her mother may have been killed. they have found a natural reserve where she can go to live now. >> think we have a veterinarian in training. >> dr. doolittle. very nice. we'll be back with more "world news now" right after this. ♪ bear necessities the simple bear necessities ♪ ♪ it's just a good-bye ♪ teach your children well >> this is the talker story of the morning. this one is wild. lots of questions right now about how some children were being taught in one georgia school. the questions stem from a series of math problems, sounds simple. but not. >> definitely the water cooler story. parents are outraged because some of the problems included references to beatings and slavery. abc's yunji de nies tells us more. >> reporter: the home work might have looked ordinary, but a closer look left parents outraged. >> i was furious at that point in time. >> reporter: furious over a word problem that read -- each tree had 56 oranges. if 8 slaves picked them equally then how much would each slave pick? another asked, if frederick got two beatings per day, how many beatings did he get in one week? >> i'm having to explain to my 8-year-old why slavery, or slaves, or beatings is in a math problem. so that hurts. >> reporter: several parents complained to school officials at beaver ridge elementary who say the teachers were trying to incorporate the student any history lessons into their math problems. >> we understand there are concerns about these questions and we agree that these questions were not appropriate. >> reporter: the district destroyed the worksheets and has promised to work with teachers. but that's not enough for many parents. >> who ever put together this paperwork and everything else, schools and everything, shouldn't teach it this way. >> reporter: parents say the district should do more. they want the school to issue a formal apology and say those teachers need some diversity training. yunji de nies, abc news, atlanta. >> almost grounds for dismissal don't you think? >> who ever put the questions together, unarguably should be fired. >> how can you be that ignorant? >> as a teacher. not helping reputation of public education, state of georgia or south ungeneral. it is appalling that any one thought that was okay. >> thele school, the missi at beaver ridge is to achieve academic and personal experience. >> who ever was responsible for that should -- face serious consequences. >> that's a problem. unbelievably sad story from the world of education this morning. get it together down there. please. coming up next, though the most wonderful time of our monday morning. >> not sure the loser like me. the wild card round of the nfl playoffs is over. time off to update the "world news now" picks competition. playoff edition. cue the pain. i'm a loser. stick around. >> we'll be back. never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. if my mom can fight and beat breast cancer, i can walk 60 miles. (woman) the fund-raising was the easiest part. people were very giving. complete strangers wanting to help. i knew someday i was gonna do this walk. if i can do this, you definitely can do this. we can do this. we can all do this together. (man) register today for the... and receive $ o off your registration fee. because everyone deserves a lifetime. >> no. >> jack gave me this. this is not my normal size. it doesn't matter. purple and yellow all you see the tonight it is going on. before we get to college. let's get to the nfl four playoff games. eight teams are left. super bowl dreams this morning. lots of pain in the nfl picks competition. playoff edition. going to be fun this morning. >> yeah, i am a former sportscaster. should have done better. >> hard to tell. >> before we get to the picks results. first highlights. we start with the bengals. and the texans. end of first half. hueton, rookie picking off the pass at close range. rumbling into the end zone. giving the texans the halftime lead. all houston. all foster. he went off. houston crushed them. 31-10. >> this was a beautiful game. the who dat nation. trailed the lions at halftime. second half all saints all the time. and unstoppable offensive barrage was too much for the lions to handle. drew brees threw for 466 yards. and three touchdowns. over and out. saints win this one. big time on the way back to their second super bowl in three years. just saying. final score for you. 5-28. who dat in the house. >> okay. it was the giants and falcons yesterday. over in the meadowlands. second half a. eli manning throwing two touchdown passes. giants' defense did the rest. falcons are grounded again. giants win 24-2. i love the 24-2 score. safety that's all. >> ugly. ugly. ugly. the guam of tame of the round. pittsburgh/denver. tim tebow leading at halftime. steelers rally. tie the game. send it into ot. call that tebow time. boom on the first play of ot. tebow hit his man for an 80-guard game. winning touchdowns. cue the celebration. denver puts out the champs. 29-23 the first time the nfl overtime rules had been put into effect. bam, quickest ot in nfl history. >> 11 second. >> how did it go in the "world news now" nfl playoff edition picks. i stunk up the joint big time. one of three. >> ugly. did go well for david meyer, the early lead. after going 4-0, dismall regular season. commissioner jack sheehan. fireman bob, one round back. rob, bringing up the rear. you and me, paula. you've went 2-2. i went 2-2. you have the distinction of 1-3. former sports anchor. in chicago, i might add. you are at the bottom. girl. >> doesn't matter. all that matters now. just more painful when i catch up to you guys. >> not going to happen. >> be nice to the lady she is all right. >> he's winning points. >> jack and i would have been 4-0 had it not been for this play if we roll the videotape right here. as you can see on the freeze. there are 11 steelers in the box. three yards off the ball. that my friends, leads to an 80-yard touchdown pass on the post. there is such a thing called a free safety. pittsburgh did not use one in that play. >> that cost them. >> cost jack and i 4-0. >> ait did. >> 300 at that point. >> y'all were talking someone being fired in the last segment. the defensive coordinator should be fired after the play. >> excellent point. what is your gut prediction, for the lsu/alabamanship game. >> lsu has the a new quarterback. alabama had a shot to win in the first, first meeting. but missed a field goal. about eatin'. 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birmingham, alabama. emergency crews are trying to locate people who may be trapped or injured. several homes are destroyed and alabama'sme, the good lord blesses. we lost our house but at least we have -- i'm sorry. we've got our family and that's all that matters right now. >>> four convicted murders pardoned by haley barbour will have their fate decided by a judge. a judge will decide if those who were pardoned and others are actually valid. the state constitution says that pardoned requests have to be published in a newspaper 30 days before being granted. the mississippi general says many of those pardoned did not meet the requirement. >>> florida is the latest stop for the race of the republican nomination. the state's primary just eight days away. earlier this morning, mitt romney held a round table discussion on housing. next hour, rick santorum is going to hold a faith, freedom, and family town hall in lady lake, florida. and then newt gingrich is in tampa florida. >>> gabrielle giffords is now stepping down from congress. a year ago she was shot in the head while meeting with voters at an arizona shopping cente

birmingham, alabama, also in oak grove. overall, 148 severe weather reports, tornado sirens going off the middle of the night in nashville, the worst appears to be in alabamattle bit, as they start to push from alabama into georgia, the people in georgia, don't have the same concerns that we did in alabama, as far as the forecast goes, looks like the worst of the tornado damage has been done the northeast, rain moving in during the day, pick up in intensity this evening. the southeast, a chance for storms in atlanta but looks like the really dangerous weather will miss you. for all our friends on the west coast that weather that you saw yesterday in san francisco continues to push into the state. snow in the high elevations, l.a., a chance for some rain. of course, as we get more of the pictures in from the destructive tornadoes in alabama last night you we will bring you the pictures here on msnbc. you are watching "morning joe," brewed by starbucks. the employee of the month isss... the new spark card from capital one. spark miles gives me the most rewards of any small business credit card. the spark card earns double miles... so we really had to up our

birmingham, alabama. >> and the worst for men is st. louis, missouri, detroit, michigan. philadelphia, p.a., and bermington, alabama which is different than burlington, vermont. and memphis, tennessee. so we were talking about "cosmos" magazine and it's always got juicy stuff in here. don't even -- can we say it? >> no. >> you can say it. >> no, i can't. dave, do you want to come over here and say it? >> he can't say it. anyway, they talk about awesome moves that men crave. these are the moves that men crave. >> not necessarily sexual. >> apparently not -- >> i heard you. i heard you say it. i heard you say it. okay. >> we just couldn't believe it. we looked at the cover and went -- my gosh. >> all right. so spooning in bed is one of the things men crave. kissing in public. they like it when we link our arm through theirs when walking down the street. soaking in a bubble bath together. >> who wouldn't? >> and like exchanging cutesy text messages. >> if frank could text, we would. >> they like pride of ownership. am i right, guys? when you guys are out in public, even if you've been -- no one is around -- >> first t

alabama have been the strongest and the worst. oak grove is one of those places we're hearing has had sections of the town destroyed. just northeast of birmingham, alabama, is where some of the worst was. here's what the radar looks like. you can see tornado warnings out there. those are the bad storms just northeast of birmingham about two hours ago. prayers to all those people as they go through another disasters. remember, tuscaloosa was hit so hard spring last year. as far as the west goes f you watched the football game last night, you saw the miserable conditions in california. although, the rain is needed. it did ruin a lot of people's sundays. we're finally getting heavy snow at the highest of elevations. you notice the green on the map. a wet ride this morning. that will shift to the south. everyone areas like l.a. have rain in the forecast later today. try to work your way, but not a lot. i'll give you any updates on the horrible news out of alabama later if we get any. >> bill, thanks so much. >>> also coming up, changes at research in motion. gas at the pump rises. and warren buffett's strange cultural exchange. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. >>> plus, the underdog film about the underdog world war ii pilots steals the thunder from the weekend's 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 "early today." >>> 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 northern nigeria. gunmen and car bombers struck friday in a coordinated series of attacks targeting police stations. >>> after 33 years in power in yemen, departing president ali abdullah saleh has left the country and is headed to the u.s. for medical treatment. he was badly burned during a roc

birmingham, alabama. but notice that he mentioned the make of the car, mustang and in alabama license plate. wade -- the go -- bear with me one second. okay, so meanwhile other fbi agents go out all over the south trying to find out if any other eric gault checked into hotels. they did find out on march march 22nd, eric gault had checked into the flamingo hotel in selma, alabama, which was significant because they found that night or in the cooking had been scheduled to give a talk there. it began to seem he was beginning to cross paths with martin luther king. whether this was, they began to do more investigating and found that he applied for a license in the state of alabama, saying he was a merchant berean unemployed they found that he had stayed at this place on highland. and yes indeed they remembered their gault had lived there. while he was there, he also sent off for some camera equipment, which brown in mail order company in chicago as he began to wonder what is up with all of this camera equipment. but they found out that gault had briefly dabbled with the idea of being a director.

alabama this morning storms brought hail and strong winds, storms are being blamed for two deaths in birmingham alabama. >> dangers of driving in horrible weather caught on camera. drivers in utah losing control of vehicles thanks to icy road conditions despite driving slowly, the cars are all slipping and sliding down this residential road. the video, which is tens of thousands of hits on youtube, is a reminder for drivers to be extra cautious, during bad weather. >>> silver spring woman and her daughter are waking up back home in maryland this morning one week after surviving that horrific cruise ship crash. she took her daughter on the cruise to celebrate her graduation from university of maryland. she can't swim and reportedly told her caught fehr they had to jump into the water -- told her taughter if they had to jump into the water, she should swim and leave her. >>> smithsonian institution has a new leader, france doe have a takes over as -- cordova as chairwoman. she is an astro face cyst who worked as -- physicist who worked as chief scientist at nasa. >>> if you have a child in school you know learning how to write is increasingly sharing same time with learning how to type and use a tablet computer. today, in dc educators are meeting for a handwriting summit. what is the future of the written word in the age of digital media. dr. karen james from department of psychology at indiana university joins us from the museum where the summit is taking place good morning. >> good morning. >> that summit already opened are there still spaces if the public wants to come down >> i think there are. no, there aren't. sorry. >> this just in, no, there aren't. >> but it is going on kicks off at 9 today. tell us why this is needed and about this summit in general. >> it is needed to increase awareness, of about what is happening in the school system, research going on, that look into handwriting and how handwriting is really important for development and cognitive and important for our school system. >>> what is going on in the schools now i have three elementary aged students i know what is happening in my neck of the woods but nationally what is happening with handwriting and learning how to write and write cursive and good printing what is happening currently? >> well, it seems like, in general, things might move towards at least teachers having the option of teaching handwriting more or less in their curriculum we might see it, dropped out of some school systems, and in some held on to. >>> tell me about research that deals with the relationship between handwriting and brain activity? >> um, well, my research is on preschool children mostly we do -- we image their brains, while they are doing things and looking at thingchildren who practice handwriting, their brains are set up, or looked more like the literal adult or older child where as children who don't learn letters and words by handwriting their brains look very different, so if we can use mural activity as a marker to what is going to happen in learning ability we can say yeah, writing seems to make a big difference to how a child's brain is developing. >> some other topics, i know that your area is what you were talking about, that preschool aged child but also, there have been studies to show, that basically, the relationship of how fast you write, transcription speed, leads to how you are going to do on tests and basically how your mind is going to operate when it comes to these markers, like test taking, sadly, that sort of determines where you will be placed in school. this has also a big huge marker effect basically if you will, on how you will do on tests can you talk about that a little bit. >> well, my research doesn't address those sorts of questions, but from what i understand yes, there does seem to be a big effect of flew weensy and being able to wright -- flew enski and being able to write by hand we just heard some body speak how in your quality of handwriting, it influences how other people perceive your writing in terms of quality. >> so interesting. before we let you go, your work, your area of concentration has been, widely publicized in wall street journal, the los angeles times, national public radio, when you visit these media outlets, what is the headline here that you are trying to get to educators, parents, to kids? >>> um, well, what i would like to see happen is that for one thing brain imaging can tell us a lot about cognitive development and development in general. that is the first thing the other thing we can really see changes in the brain that rely on how a child or how an adult learns things and so, it is important to look at these markers to discover, things that are leading to optimal per poor mans and cognitive development -- performance and cognitive development in children. specific research is showing that fine motor skills, like writing and printing are really important for brain development and cognitive in general. >> so interesting, dr. james will present this 10:30 a.m., museum hopefully you have gotten a ticket if not we apologize that is sold out but we are glad people are interested for sure thank you there are joining us. >>> thank you. >>> interesting right? >> yeah,. >> coming up frederick county family gets a science lesson after they make an unusual discovery in their christmas tree. >>> plus. >> going to take a long time to get over it. >> maryland family still searching for answers after that puppy right there, heidi was shot and killed how that tragedy prompted a lawmaker to draft a bill to punish animal abusers. >> first we will check in with annie yu. >> good morning so all morning long we have been dabbling in fun activities on ice and here at tucker road ice rink they offer figure skating, bumper cars on ice really neat program called, give it a shot and it is a fun way for your kid to get introductory course to hockey. all they need to do is come out here and give it a shot we will learn about that coming up stay with us. >>> thank you. first here is today's trivia question, what part of the human body is the branock device used to measure hand, foot, waist or brain head to our facebook page, fox 5 morning news is back after the break, it is 9:20 a.m. these are the crescents you lolove on a holiday. and these are the ones you'll love on a school night. pillsbury ham and cheese crescents. with just a few ingredients, you have an easy dinner. pillsbury ham and cheese crescents. school night ideas made easy. here's a better idea... pillsbury grands! flaky layers biscuits. in just 15 minutes, the light delicate layers add a layer of warmth to your next dinner. pillsbury grands! dinner ideas made easy. >>> a frederick family gets a post christmas surprise. the children found hundreds of praying mantis not knowing where they came from the family took flashlights to search the home and found a nest at the bottom of their tree. >> really. >> instead of putting them outside to die the family decided to keep them as pets and learn a thing or two about the insects. >>> we kind of made it educational for the kids, we made terrariums, researched what they ate and how to give them an environment to help them grow. >> the family plans to release the bugs into the wild when it gets a little warmer. >>> isn't that nice. seems like a nice family that could do that. >> lawmaker in maryland, proposing legislation to publicly embarrass those found guilty of animal abuse. >> under ronald young's plan an animal abuse registry would list names and addresses of those convicted of animal abuse in future. the bill is called heidi's law. matt tells us why. >> reporter: she was a puppy who loved to play, heidi, a golden retriever was shot and killed, earlier this month, in middle town maryland. >> it is going to fake a long time to get -- take a long time to get over it. >> reporter: she has been heartbroken since she found her dead in a field near her home. although there is an $8,000 reward, no one has been arrested. >> this is a vicious, senseless killing. >> reporter: state senator, young, says it is time to do more to punish and embarrass those who abuse animals. >> it is an indication of a problem. >> reporter: just like a sex offender registry, senator young would like to create another registry for those found guilty of animal abuse in the state of maryland. their names, and addresses would be there, forever one to see. >> i hope it might stop some body from doing it, but if it doesn't do that, at least people know, who and where they are. >> this has been public outrage and an outpouring of support since heidi was killed. >> >> i get, cards without an address or anything i get them. >> she would support any law that could prevent what happened to heidi. >> absolutely it makes people think twice. >> senator young says he does not thing this new registry, will cost maryland tax payers, any extra money, in fact, as part of his plan, he believes an offender should pay $50 a year to keep the site up and running. in frederick county, matt hack lynn, fox 5 news. >>> ravens fans left in disbelief as the team shot at the super bowl went to the left of the ghoul post. >>> ray rice -- goal post. >> ray rice responds to the negativity that surfaced next. >> dr. oz turns to a virginia doctor to talk about gastric bypass surgery. the doctor joins us live to explain how this surgery can explain type two diabetes, we will be right back . it just got more frustrating and frustrating. a lot of times, the picture would break up. for the amount of money that i am paying, my cable company should take care of me. 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[ male announcer ] visit verizon.com/greatprice. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities that's verizon.com/greatprice. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. fios. a network ahead. >>> super bowl 46, ravens and 49ers, sorry, new england stamp their ticket, beating the ravens, 23-20. is it a touchdown? knocked out of his hand. baltimore blew two chances end of the game. evans couldn't secure what would have been a game winning touchdown. moments later, a 32-yard field goal missed that would have tied the game. ray rice took to facebook hartely after and said he was -- shortly after and said he was proud of his team and he posted this one more thing games consist of 60 minutes, not 20 seconds before you start bashing my kicker let me say this is a team sport win or lose, so if you want to be negative keep it to yourself. >> if only people could do that. what a wonderful world it would be >> i will be negative. >> first patriot, facing giantsuper bowl. ely manning threw three touchdowns, defense played another solid game. williams, fumbled a punt for san francisco in ot. five plays later, giants kicker, kicked a game winning field goal from 31-yards out remember it is a team that loses not the one guy who fumbles the ball. >> not just 60 seconds. >> twice. >> yeah. >> twice. >> yeah. >> fumbled it twice. >> et was eerie because you know, ravens get -- this is a 32-yarder and giants kicker make as 31-yarder to win the game. >> i know we can't replay, the missed 32-yarder but did you see how far that ball had to go, like this to miss. >> yeah. >> goal post. >> you know. >> but tucker was it windy >> god had taken the ball. >> they shanked it. >>> obviously his nerves got the best of him. >> is that what happened? >> probably let's say this baltimore had a great year. >> great season. >> your -- you know, seconds away from a super bowl appearance. it was a great year. >> great year. >> great football year. >> best part, both games were fun to watch. >> look how far your teammate. >> i don't know if super bowl will be fun to watch but we got time to talk about that. >> madonna, half time. >> well, we are watching the game. >> okay i am just saying there is something to look forward to. >> what else you got for us. >> how is your husband taking it? >> s to not a happy day. >> working the news and you get to watch the same replays, 80 times. >> i would thing you would get numb to it. >> freezing rain advisory now in effect, and this is continued now, or extended until 11:00 a.m. this morning includes the district that is the change from a few minutes ago all counties here in pink under a freezing rain advisory until 11:00 a.m., let me add on to that a dense fog advisory for counties in close, until 12 noon visibility less than a quarter mile bottom line not a great morning temperatures very slow to budge they will eventually budge i promise we will have highs mid-40s. a little later this afternoon we got to get there we are waiting for warmer air off to the south and west. >>> updated temperatures, 34 washington 30 gaithersburg, there you go, off to the north and west 94 corridor, temperatures at or below freezing, dulles, martins burg, frederick we got to be concerned for a few more hours for potential for slick spots out there, as ice can quickly develop with freezing fog and light drizzle that falls across the area. >> this front will come in later, cold front, up towards chicago, trailing the cold front, very severe thunderstorms alabamathey had potential tornadoes this morning this will come waltzing through later. that will bring a round of showers, they will not be terry heavy but as this front moves in temperatures will warm into the 40s. we will get to melt off ice. cloudy skies early freezing rain will give way to afternoon showers, 45 daytime high, 5 to 10 could be an early shower night, clear out overnight not concerned with refreezing temperatures upper 30s to 40s. there is your 5 day forecast, tomorrow beautiful, sunshine, 54 degrees, yeah, that is 10 degrees above where it should be. 47 wednesday, could be more showers thursday, notice temperature trend this week, actually well above normal, not a bad looking forecast for end of january, that is a look at weather tony back to you. >> thank you. millions of americans are living with type 2 diabetes, what if there were a surgery to wipe outer the disease literally overnight. tvs dr. oz is exploring that in a series called the most under explored, surgery you

alabama emergency management agency. he joins us by phone from birmingham. art, the two people dead, we understand, were both killed in alabama, is that correct? >> that's correct, jon. we do have reports that we have had two fatalities in alabamat's up to three now, that's the latest information? >> that is unconfirmed. we cannot confirm that, the other fatalities, but we do know we have several in the state. jon: a 16-year-old in clay outside birmingham and an 82-year-old man in ecgrove. when we look at some of these pictures you can understand why. these are absolutely fierce storms. did you have the kind of warning you would have liked to have had? >> well, we've been coordinating with the national weather service on this since last friday, and you know, yesterday, the governor worked with some of his key cabinet members to make sure the state agencies were ready. we've been communicating with our local government here in the state. fortunately as the sun rose in alabama we were not facing the catastrophic devastation that we faced last spring, however, any fatality is one too many, and when homes are destroyed, then that's relative to those individuals that own those homes. so we'll be out there assisting every person that

alabama. just crossing wires, emergency officials are now saying that to people have died in the birmingham, alabamams prompting a tornado warning in a handful of states. that will be monitoring what is happening down there and keep you updated. >>darya: we are back with more in a couple of minutes. a big day for weather and traffic. oxfam staff >>mark: welcome back. the snow is still coming down and this year. we picked up 6-12 in. in the sierra at the resorts. look at severally, it is covered in its no fear if for finally, a fresh powder at the ski resorts. we are getting heavy pockets of rain still in the bay area, but wait until you see the changes. more on that coming up. here is a live look at the james lick. the rain is not as heavy and traffic is moving close to the speed limit. >>darya: of new the gingrich is in the spotlight after winning in south carolina over the weekend. here is a look at the next big battleground. florida. saddam of the roof of the fifth race for president has authorized is sort of. so far there have the three different contest and three of the sinfulness. fifth santor

alabama. we have more than 200 storm reports, about 21 reported tornadoes. in this line from arkansas to alabama. you can see the storm line moving right through birmingham through knoxville. it's the southern line that is so problematic. the reports out of birmingham from abc 3340, there's been a lot of damage. we're even getting tweets this morning that there are folks trapped in debris there, and we're getting twitter pictures out on the line that this is what it looks like. so we know there's a strong tornado on the ground in those areas at least. we're going to take a look at that area this morning. we know rescue teams are working in that area, as soon as they get daylight. we'll get more information out of there. these are the storm reports. again more than 200. there's where the tornadoes are. we'll watch this area for the strongest severe weather throughout the morning. we'll be right on top of that. robin, george. >> this weather so far this year has been so unpredictable. >> still unusual, january, mid-january tornadoes right now. >> all right, sam. i know you'll have more for us. let's get to josh elliott. with the other top development stories. >> we have lots to get to. a big scare for people aboard an american airlines flight. 2 hours after leaving brazil, a plane was rocked by unexpected turbulence so severe that a food cart sparked a hole in the ceiling. six crew members were injured, five had to be taken to the hospital when the plan landed safe limit >>> meanwhile, gabby giffords is returning to tucson to finish the meet and greet cut short a year ago. by the shooting spree that left her wounded. the event will be her last as congress woman. abc's jake tapper has more on giffords' emotional resignation. ♪ >> thank you for your prayers. >> reporter: it was a moving farewell. congresswoman gabby giffords in her own words. >> i have more work to do on my recovery. so to do what is best for arizona, i will step down this week. >> reporter: giffords released this video just a little over one year since that shocking moment in a parking lot near tucson where six were killed. >> i don't remember much. from that horrible day. but i will never forget the trust you placed in me. >> reporter: a day that left gabby giffords weak but not broken. >> i'm getting better. my spirit is high. >> reporter: and hopeful. to come back some day to the public arena. >> a lot has happened over the past year. we cannot change that. but i know on the issues we fought for, we can change things for the better. >> in a statement, president obama said that he was confident we have not seen the last of this extraordinary american. and that's true, we will see congress woman gifts in the audience of congress tomorrow evening for the president's state of the union address. josh. >> stunning. thank you for that, jake. and again a reminder, george and diane sawyer will anchor live coverage of the president's state of the union tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. eastern. >>> meanwhile, tracy morgan has been rushed to the hospital after collapsing at the sundance film festival. a spokesman sthas morgan was suffering from exhaustion and affe effects of high altitude. doctors say no drugs or alcohol were found in his system. >>> and a story of remarkable generosity and luck. a texas family sightseeing in a small plane like you see here off of honduras when one of the engines died. they crashed into the water upside down. but watch as several boaters get to the plane into the water. there's a 4-year-old boy and his mother who appear to be trapped. but as luck and divine intervention would have it. two doctors diving nearby helped treat them after they were brought to the surface, giving them oxygen, among other thing, and now the family, trapped in that plane is back home now. >> wow. >> with a new faith in people, and hear hear, to it all. >> how quickly they reacted. >>> now to joe paterno, the legendary penn state coach died this weekend at the age of 85. and tributes are pouring in, during more than half a century at penn state, he built a legacy that was shaken right at the end by headline making scandal, as you know, involving his top assistant. abc's dan harris, our weekend anchor is there in state college, pennsylvania, good morning, dan. >> reporter: good morning, robin. the bapper headline in the college newspaper says simply "joseph vincent paterno." at the paterno statue behind me, at the paterno statue, a growing tribute to a man who did so much, but in one key case, by his own admission, did not do enough. overnight, a huge spontaneous gathering at the statue of joe paterno, they left candles and cards, footballs and flowers. >> hundreds of thousands of people just lost a father figure, grandfather figure. >> it's no secret that at the end of the his life there was a pretty big scandal. do you think in any way that were overshadow his legacy? >> not to the students. we're going to hold on to all of the good things. >> reporter: he coached at penn state for 61 years. his motto "success with honor." his uniform, coke bottle glasses, windbreaker, rolled up khakis and black sneakers. his claim to fame -- repeatedly turning down big nfl offers. >> i stayed, because i felt this is where i would be happier, and that i could do more good. >> reporter: but this past fall, the scandal, jerry sandusky, his former assistant coach for 30 years accused of serial child abuse. paterno had been told about one alleged incident, he passed the information along to campus officials but never told police. he was fired. >> joe paterno is no longer the head football coach. >> reporter: the campus erupted. they're spraying tear gas. the scene last night was very different. >> this is the penn state we want to be shown on tv. >> as opposed to -- >> well -- >> reporter: just nine days after he was fired, paterno was diagnosed with lung cancer. in his final interview with "washington post," he was struggling to talk and wearing a wig because of the hair loss from chemo. >> hey, the good lord's got a reason. you know, i'm not as concerned about me, i've got five great kids. 17 great grandchildren. >> reporter: on sunday morning, 84 days after his last game, joe paterno died at age 85, surrounded by his family. and, robin, as you know, so many comparisons this morning to the legendary alabamaoach bear bryant who died 29 days after his final game. >> thank you. a lot of people are making that comparison. we'll have mike and mike of espn weighing in on paterno's passing a little later. >> what a career. >>> "your voice your vote," it's a brand-new race to the white house after newt gingrich's stunning comeback in the south carolina primary. the former speaker is riding high, rising in the polls, raising new money and drawing new fire from mitt romney. he'll join us live in an exclusive interview in just a moment. first, abc's john berman. >> reporter: mitt romney hit the ground in florida overnight with stinging new hit on newt gingrich, calling him a failed leader as speaker of the house. >> he actually resigned after four years in disgrace. >> reporter: and new questions about newt's work with freddie mac. >> he's been working as a lobbyist, yeah, selling influence around washington. i would like him to release his records. what was his work product there? >> reporter: but

alabama. we got a report from the weather service that there appears to be a large tornado on the ground. there's been a lot of damage that's been doeb. done. now, this is the birmingham, alabamaappears it went through the gardendale area. now, that tornado, you can see the clear signature on it right there. when you see the bright reds surrounded by the yellows and the greens, that's actually the spinning motion of the storm. and there's beginning reports, you know, from the radar that there's debris ball. in other words, there's been enough destruction down by this tornado that it's picked up the houses and threw it up into the sky. now the radar beam shoots out. and that's what we're looking at. if you know anyone that's in the springville area, give them a call. i know it's four something in the morning there, but they have a nighttime tornado, a large one, it appears, heading right over top of them. it looks like it's right over the top just north of interstate 59. we're going to watch it heading up towards gadston. that will be the next city. so we'll give you reports as soon as we get them in. it looks like a large tornado has been on the ground over the last hour. it w

now, at least two people have been killed near birmingham, alabama. 16-year-old girl and an 82-year-old man. the girl, in fact, died here. this is clay, alabamay injured, and the search is on for folks who may simply be trapped in these collapsed homes. >> we made it just in the nick of time. the good lord blessed us. we lost our house, but at least we have -- i'm sorry -- we got our family, and that's all that matters. >> in south central arkansas, at least one person was injured today when a possible tornado touched down in four days. >>> now, let me take you to some live pictures. this is, and there she is, she and her husband, gabby giffords, and her husband there in tucson, arizona. she is holding her last official event. she is finishing the congress in your corner meet and greet she was holding when she was shot this month a year ago. giffords says she has announced she will resign from congress to focus on her recovery. >>> a plane last night hit major turbulence just two hours into the flight on american airlines. >> i was watching the movie and the entire plane, everybody just -- everybody just moved up from their seats. >> moved up

alabama to get us out of birmingham to montgomery and to get assurance from the governor of alabama and the state official that they would protect the freedom riders. so john siegenthaler was there on behalf of president kennedy in may of 1961, and he got caught between trying to shepherd, protect some of the young freedom riders and the mob, and he was caught and--and beaten and left lying unconscious on the streets of montgomery. c-span: you still see him? >> guest: oh, i see john siegenthaler a great deal. he's a good friend. you know, when you're going through wars with people, you've shared battles, y--you--you try to stay in touch. c-span: when did you first meet bobby kennedy? >> guest: i first met bobby kennedy in the spring of 1963. he was attorney general. bobby kennedy was an unbelievable person as attorney general, and i got to know him very well as attorney general and later as senator from--from new york. i remember him saying to me once in july of 1963--he said, 'john, i now understand. the young people, the students, have educated me. they have taught me a lesson.' this--this man really did believe--he became convinced and committed--he believed deeply in his soul, in his gut, i--i think, in the cause of civil rights and--and social justice. c-span: when did you first go to work for him politically? >> guest: in march of 1968, when he announced that he was--seek the democratic nomination for the presidency. i sent him a telegram. i was in jackson, mississippi, and said, 'senator kennedy, i want to help. i want to volunteer. i want to be part of your campaign.' and he asked some of his people to call me, and they called me and they invited me to go to indiana, to indianapolis. and i went to indianapolis to work on voter registration and organizing mass rallies on behalf of--of the kennedy campaign. and i was with bobby kennedy the night of april 4th, 1968, when we heard that dr. king had been shot. i w--i didn't know--i just heard that he had been shot and didn't know what condition he was in or anything. and robert kennedy came and spoke to the crowd that we had organized and announced that dr. king had been assassinated. and i will never forget that evening. and i sort of said to myself during that week leading up to dr. king's funeral--sort of said, 'well, we still have bobby kennedy.' and i threw myself into that campaign. i went to atlanta to--to the funeral and just got m--very much involved in the campaign--went out to oregon, campaigned for robert kennedy; introduced him at a college student rally out there. then i went on to california. and i just knew he was going to win the democratic nomination. we saw hundreds and thousands of people just filling the streets of los angeles, the motorcade of--pulling for robert kennedy. c-span: go back for a moment to the night that martin luther king was killed. you say that the crowd that assembled did not know that he had been shot? >> guest: the people in the crowd did not know. c-span: in indianapolis? >> guest: in indianapolis that evening. we hadn't told anyone. people did not know it. they were just standing there waiting for bobby kennedy to come and speak. c-span: well, di--did he tell 'em first? >> guest: ri--it was robert kennedy who spoke to the crowd and said, 'i have some bad news f--tonight. martin luther king jr. was assassinated in memphis, tennessee.' and people just cried. some people just dropped to their knees. and robert kennedy went on and--and spoke, and he urged people not to turn to violence, not to get lost in a sea of despair. c-span: now what was the scene later, where you say he threw himself on the bed? >> guest: we went back--we left the rally and we went back to the local hotel, where we all went into his room, and he laid across the bed. and we all were sitting down. and we all cried. we all cried there together. c-span: did that surprise you, that he was that emotional about it? >> guest: it didn't surprise me because i think bobby kennedy had grown so much during that period, and he felt very strongly that we needed to make some changes in america, that he felt that dr. king was the best person, probably, to help us make those changes through peaceful, non-violent action. c-span: and where were you then in california when he was killed? >> guest: when bobby kennedy was shot, i was in his room on the fifth floor of the ambassador hotel. i had spoken with him just a few minutes earlier. he joked with me that evening. he said, 'john, you let me down tonight. you let me down. more mexican-american voters turned out and voted for me than negroes.' and he sort of suggested that we wait for him and that he would be back in 15 minutes. so i was in his room in the ambassador hotel, fifth floor, with teddy white, the writer, several other media people, members of his family and others. and we saw the announcement--it was a bulletin saying that s--senator kennedy had been shot. and we all just dropped to our knees. i cried, like so many other people. we--we cried. i just wanted to get out of la that--that night. i just wanted to leave. i wanted to get to atlanta. so the next morning i boarded a plane and flew from los angeles to atlanta. and i think i cried all the way from los angeles back to atlanta. and there, i can recall, as we--and this is june 6th--as we flew across the mountains in colorado, arizona, or someplace along the way, i could still see the snow o--on the mountains but i got back to--to atlanta, and a day or so later the family invited me to come to new york for the funeral. and i went there the night before the funeral and stood at one of the honor guard with reverend abernathy. and then the next day i went to the funeral. after the funeral, i boarded this funeral train and traveled from new york. and all along the way you saw people with sign--hand-made signs saying, 'we love you, bobby,' 'goodbye, bobby'--just hundreds and thousands of people waving, waving. and somehow, in some way, you--i didn't want that train to stop in washington. you--you just want it to--to keep going, but we knew this was the end.' cause bobby kennedy represented so much hope and so much optimism, the same way that martin luther king jr. did. c-span: earlier i asked you about the newspaper reading. you still read a newspaper today? >> guest: oh, yes, i r--i read the newspaper. you know, it's--not being able to read a newspaper, it would--would just mess up my day. a... c-span: i want to connect that, though, with the books because you also tell us about your book collection. you have books here; you have books down in atlanta. but you found a book in a bookstore one time. how did that happen, and why was that so important? >> guest: well, i--i--i--i lo--i love books. i--i--i love books. books are important. i remember when i was growing up, i couldn't check the book out of a--out of the library because i was black, and they didn't allow blacks to come into the public library in pike county, alabama, in troy. and s--and we had very few books in o--in our home. so any time i could get a book to read, i wanted to read a book. so i got into collecting books. and i would go to antique shops, flea markets and different places to try to find a good, old book. a--and one day in washington i--i went to a market, an old flea market in just an old store out on the highway near washington national airport. and it was a lot of dust. and i saw this book. it was "stride toward freedom,"

alabama was 18 years old when she was last seen in may of 2005. she had been listed as missing ever since. now a judge declares what had been apparent for years. edward lawrence reports. >>> a birmingham, alabamaudge called this hearing a sad occasion. before he officially declared natalee holloway dead. her father asked for the declaration. >> we've been dealing with her death for the last six and a half years. hopefully this meeting today will kind of put some closure on it. >> dave holloway, her father needs a death certificate so a college fund so his son can be sent to college. >> it makes me very sad. >> she's ready to move on from this and hopefully justice eventually will be served. >> this declaration comes one day after the suspect if her disappearance pleaded guilty to murdering a woman in peru. joran van der sloot was arrested twice for the presumed death of natalee but never charged with the crimes. natalee was on the last day of her high school graduation trip. she was last seen in a car with several people, including van der sloot. the judgment will be handed to a county office so a death certificate can be issued. in los angeles, edward lawrence for cbs news. >>> coming up on a

alabama. strong storms moved through birmingham overnight destroying homes. an emergency management spokesman says more than 100 people have been injured in central alabama.nings were issued in several states across the south. the same system caused heavy damage in arkansas. no one was hurt there. search crews are going house to house in the birmingham area looking for people possibly trapped inside. >>> let's check on our weather now with tom kierein who's keeping an eye on the forecast. tom, what's going on? >> we have quite a bit of fog around that's lingering. it will linger for another couple of hours and will gradually dissipate as we get into the afternoon hours. we've had one little band of rain come through the metro area now, calvert, seeoutheastern prince george's, into st. m mary's. a broader area of rain coming into the panhandle of west virginia. all that area in green is rain and temperatures there are above freezing. few pockets where it is a little bit below freezing up in frederick county and carroll county in maryland, maybe parts of washington county, too, where it is a little bit below freezing. temperatures elsewhere most locations a

alabama until 10:00 a.m. tuscaloosa, montgomery, birmingham reported. as matt mentioned, paradise valley, alabama, in between birmingham and tuscaloosa, we had ham radio reports of the town being wiped off the map. we are going to have to update this. but, again, it is really bad there. we're looking at the storms continuing. we are looking not at heavy rainfall amounts but the big problem going to be the winds out of the tornadoes. hail, damaging winds and we'll continue to update this for you. matt? >> al, thank you very much. we'll get your forecast in a few minutes. for now, to the battle for florida as the gop presidential race heats up on the heels of newt gingrich's big win in south carolina. nbc's peter alexander is in tampa this morning. peter, good morning to you. >> reporter: matt, good morning to you. after being badly beaten in south carolina mitt romney hustled to florida to get a head start. having spent millions in this state already since the beginning of the month. romney's senior advisers say you can expect him to ramp up the rhetoric against newt gingrich going forward, that we'll begin to see a more confrontational mitt romney and we are already beginning to see it on the campaign trail. looking to capitalize on his resounding south carolina win, newt gingrich arrives in florida today, focused on momentum and money. >> in florida my case is simple. you have a clear establishment candidate in mitt romney. you have somebody whose entire career has been a reagan populist conservative going all the way back to the 1970s. >> reporter: on twitter, gingrich boasted he raised more than $1 million in less than 24 hours and asked supporters to donate more to help him deliver a knockout punch. >> this is a decision point. >> reporter: mitt romney is looking to the sunshine state for a comeback. >> what's he been doing for 15 years? he's been working as a lobbyist and selling influence around washington. >> reporter: appearing on "meet the press" earlier, gingrich denied that. >> i was not a lobbyist. i was never a lobbyist. don't mix these things up. the fact was i was an adviser stroo teenagecally. >> reporter: during our interview romney ridiculed that. >> if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck it's a duck. >> reporter: what makes him unfit to be president of the united states? >> he was speaker of the house for four years and then was investigated by an ethics panel. those who knew him rejected him, reprimanded him and he left in shame. >> reporter: after weeks of being coy about whether he'll release tax returns. >> maybe. >> reporter: he said he'll release his 2010 returns and an estimate for 2011. >> there are no surprises. nothing in the financial disclosure forms. we said, get it out there soon. >> reporter: romney's son put out this photo of his father doing laundry. do you see images like that and say, maybe i'm trying too hard to look like an average guy. >> everybody knows i'm not an average guy. >> reporter: are you doing your laundry on primary day? >> we'll be on the road 30 days. who else does our laundry? >> reporter: this state doesn't vote until january 31 is. romney said something new yesterday, ann romney referring to statements about the family's personal wealth saying they measure wealth and riches in the strength of the family. also worth noting, nearly 200,000 people in the state have already voted either by absentee or early voting. >> peter alexander in tampa, thank you so much. david gregory is moderator of "meet the press" and chuck todd is the political director and chief white house correspondent in tampa at the site of tonight's republican debate. good morning to you both. >> good morning. >> david, in that piece we hear newt gingrich saying he raised more than $1 million in less than 24 hours following the win in south carolina. i know that money will come in handy. do we have any idea how much it will cost the candidates now that the campaign has taken a dramatic turn? how much they will spend in the state of florida? >> it's what they will spend and what a the super pacs on their behalf will spend as well. if you're newt gingrich you're relying on debates. paid advertising has got to play a role. he's got to rely on momentum taking him in to florida at this point. i don't think he can go toe to toe with mitt romney's funds from his own campaign and his own super pac to make an impact in such a tv-rich state. >> chuck, i watched you on the roundtable yesterday. one thing that struck me is how few people seemed to give newt gingrich a realistic chance of winning the nomination. i know the pundits counted the guy out on a couple of occasions. >> right. >> is that risky? >> i think you're right. it is risky. when you look at where the republican electorate is, they are looking for a conservative. not the most electable candidate but a conservative. mitt romney hasn't successfully made the case. with gingrich, you hear all of the back room chatter that there will be this whatever it takes to, quote, stop gingrich. you have members of the house leadership who think, look what gingrich did when he was and '98.lly on the ballot in '96 he helped re-elect a democratic president and almost cost them the house when he was in charge. there is panic he could lose the presidency, lose control of the house and blow their chances at picking up the senate. that's why a panic that the establishment will do whatever it takes to stop him. even find a new candidate. >> because of momentum the debate takes on more significance. it's safe to say mitt romney is wounded after south carolina. what do you expect to hear from him in the debate? >> peter alexander's report and interview were quite telling. this is a different mitt romney. mike murphy, republican strategist, said to me yesterday romney is in a corner with a broken bottle in his hand. he has to decide if he'll fight or be overtaken by gingrich. this is not a candidate who's been defined by that willingness to really fight in the course of a campaign. he's not in fighting shape. he has to be soon. he has to draw bright contrasts. he's up against something powerful here. he's running as a populist with a lot of insider credentials. that's the calling card of the grief-stricken right right now. the element of the conservative party. that's what he's going to have to contend with in these debates and in florida. >> the issue of tax returns, mitt romney will release them tomorrow. does that take it off the table as a subject during the debate tonight? >> a tiny bit. you heard gingrich himself to david on "meet the press" saying it may take it off the table. let's see what's in there. what is it that was in these tax returns that made mitt romney say at a debate, hey, you know, i'm worried about beating president obama. what's he worried about? what's in there? there is something to that. and when you go even by the president bush standard when he was candidate bush he released ten years before taking the oath of office. this isn't fully going away but it sounds like gingrich is willing to have it go away for a little while, at least from what he told david. >> guys, thank you very much. just a reminder, you can see the nbc news republican debate tonight on a special edition of "rock center" with brian williams on nbc. it's now 11 after the hour. savannah savannah? >>> there are new developments in the cruise ship off the coast of italy. a woman's body was recovered raising the death toll to 13. michelle kosinski is at the scene with the latest this morning. good morning to you. >>> hi, savannah. since it happened more than a week ago searchers have recovered 13 victims but only identify eight. there are around 20 missing and a possibility of more people on board whose names weren't registered. divers are determined to keep going, even removing all the fuel on board. you can see the ship there. it could start as early as tomorrow. what happened in those last moments on board the concordia become more evident with each victim found. on sunday, a woman wearing a life jacket was recovered from a deck just above where passengers were told to gather to board lifeboats. searchers say she may have tried to run up higher on the ship as it tilted into the water. saturday another was found near the same area, also in a life vest. but a surprise to officials, she may be a hungarian woman whose name doesn't appear on a list of passengers or crew. how many others there may be, unnamed, is unknown. the families of the unaccounted for, including the son and daughter of americans barbara and jerry heil gathered together on this island. their distress evident on their faces as they comforted one another. there was a church service in the same place where survivors came that night. the families met with rescuers, thanked them personally. the ceo of costa cruises was here. >> he came to see the families. he met the french families, american families, other families mostly to express his compassion. [ speang in a foreign language ] >> reporter: in italy, the concordia disaster is debated. we are asking if captain schettino is the only one to blame. they talk about italian bravado and work ethic. one says it's not schettino himself who worries me. it's the schettino in me. media said they persuaded schettino to talk the morning after the accident by suggesting he saved lives in his maneuvering of the ship. he agreed. you need to make a decision in a moment under pressure with cool-headedness adding, we were the last ones to leave the ship which we now know was not the case. and the search for victims goes on. where we are now on giglio, this has been inhabited since the stone age. later it was an important roman trading point and the site of many roman ship wrecks. technology changes things uh but some risks stay exactly the same. savannah? >> michelle kosinski at the scene in italy this morning. thank you. >> let's get a check of other headlines from natalie standing by at the news desk. good morning to you. >> good morning, matt and savannah. good morning, everyone. we begin with an outpouring of emotion on the penn state campus after the death of legendary coach joe paterno who lost his battle to lung cancer. nbc's ron allen is in state college, pennsylvania, with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, natalie. we are outside the football stadium where joe paterno and penn state enjoyed so much glory. his statue is over there and has become a shrine with people stopping by to light candles, leave flowers. everyone is trying to focus on what paterno accomplished rather than the sexual abuse scandal that led to his downfall. thousands from the penn state community gathered in the heart of campus to honor a man who, perhaps more than any other individual, made this university what it is. >> we are not just athletes. we're not just students. we are a reflection of who joe paterno was. >> reporter: joe paterno was here for 60 years, with a record 409 victories while putting academics before athletics. >> people ask me why i stayed here so long. you know what? look around. >> reporter: the legacy of greatness. >> joe paterno with the light he was blessed with blessed each of us. >> reporter: tarnished by the sexual abuse scandal around his long-time assistant jerry sandusky that led to paterno getting fired. with hindsight he said he wished he had done more to intervene. >> after 61 years he deserved the benefit of the doubt. the circumstances at the end which happened, sad for everybody. >> reporter: the official cause of death is lung cancer but many people will tell you a contributing factor was that paterno was heartbroken by everything that happened the last few months. we expect to hear from the family and the university about funeral arrangements and the memorial service. natalie? >> thank you, ron. >>> arizona representative gabrielle giffords will resign from congress this week. she made the announcement sunday in a video posted by her campaign saying she needs to focus on her recovery. >> i don't remember much from that horrible day. but i will never forget the trust you placed in me to be your voice. >> giffords will meet with supporters at a public event in tucson today and attend tomorrow's state of the union. >>> it now costs more to mail a letter. the u.s. postal service raised the cost of a first class stamp by a penny to 45 cents. now to wall street and mary thompson at the new york stock exchange for us this morning. what are we watching? >> this week investors are awaiting a decision on interest rates from the federal reserve as well as earnings from oil giant exxon mobile. today attention is on canada where the co-ceos of research in motion stepped down. this as the maker of the blackberry lost its once dominant grip on the cell phone market to iphone. >> mary thompson, thank you. >>> "30 rock" actor tracy morgan was rushed to the hospital. tmz had a photograph affidavit ambulance arriving after morgan fell unconscious at the sundance film festival. he was suffering exhaustion and problems with altitude. no word on his condition. >>> and the super bowl matchup is set. it will be giants and patriots again four years later. lawrence tine kicked the field goal in overtime to cinch the title over the 49ers. it was a field goal miss that dashed the super bowl dreams of the baltimore ravens. losing to the new england patriots 23-20 in the afc. a lot of us are bleary-eyed but it was worth it. back to matt, savannah and al. great matchups. >> and condiff is a really good field goal kicker. she's shown great skill under pressure. >> i think that's why the other players were stunned. >> stunned. >> i feel terrible. >> let's never play that video again. i can't bear it. >> natalie, thank you very much. how are you, mr. roker? >> tired but happy. weather played a big role in the game with the 49ers and giants. you can see the front. that's the one triggering severe weather through the southeast. snow behind it. rain moving into the pacific northwest. northern california with snow through the rockies. freezing rain in upstate new york into new england. also some freezing rain as well through the virginias. >> good morning, everyone. there could be minor icing in some of the neighborhoods north and west of baltimore to start the day today. temperatures will climb above freezing in most areas. we should make it up to 44. best >>> and that's your latest weather. matt? >> now the alleged mastermind behind one of the internet's biggest and most lucrative schemes. kim.com appeared in court as new details emerged about his li lifestyle. stephanie gosk is in london with details on this. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. with controversial legislation that hopes to cut down on internet piracy, supported by nbc universal, the fbi is cracking down. federal prosecutors have arrested one of the information superhighway's biggest criminals. kim schmidt, a computer master mind best known by one of his other names, kim dot com. the world wide web made kim dot com a wealthy man. addicted to cars and everything else in the fast lane the 37-year-old likes to call himself dr. evil. >> if you're happy -- >> reporter: he founded the most popular file sharing website mega upload. but the u.s. government says most of what was shared on the hong kong-based site -- movies, music and books -- was pirated. even though the company was promoted by music superstars who were among those it was allegedly stealing from. >> this is kanye. i like mega upload. it's the fastest, safest way to send files. >> reporter: thickering a legal battle with the music group which represents west. the fbi shut down mega uploads and asked new zealand authorities to arrest dot com who was living lavishly in a sprawling mansion. police say it wasn't easy. >> they found him huddling in a panic room clutching a sawed off shotgun. they had to cut him out of the room. >> reporter: prosecutors believe he has illegally earned $175 million and caused a half a billion dollars in damages to copy right owners. a charge that the defendants vigorously deny saying most of the content uploaded was legitimate. this isn't the hacker's first run-in with the law. he was found guilty of insider trading and embezzlement in his native germany. far from a low profile the married father of three had in your face decadence with yachts, fast cars and women. >> the photos on his website are ridiculous. crazy photos of him doing things. >> reporter: over the weekend the bank accounts were froze and cars seized including a pink cadillac and a $400,000 rolls royce phantom. now the man who likes to boast he's smarter than bill gates faces extradition to the u.s. in one of the biggest criminal copy right cases of all time. the defendants were in court today for a bail hearing in auckland. defense lawyers say he doesn't pose a flight risk. one of their arguments at 6'7" weighing over 280 pounds how could he flee undetected? matt? >> stephanie, thank you. just ahead, the daring rescue of a texas family caught on tape after their sight-seeing plane crashed into the ocean. their story in an exclusive live interview first, this is "today" on nbc. >>> still ahead, seven things you think you're doing to save money that could cost you more over time. >> and the woman acquitted of murdering her husband after claiming she suffered years of abuse. we'll talk to her after your local news. >> this is wbal tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning, i am stand stovall. a real roller-coaster ride last night for ravens fans as they watched the ravens trade lead to the new england patriots but a missed field goal sealed their defeat, they lost the afc title game to the new england patriots by 23-23 the team returned to baltimore last night but not to better fans. the team will not going to the superbowl but most fans say they are proud of the team and having a great season time for a check of the morning commute. >> good morning, it is tough to see out there causing some delays. there are some icy spot to watch for. dogwood road and old court, we have an accident to watch for and fulton avenue was closed at pratt street due to ongoing fire department activity. on the west side, you are down to 19 miles per hour parad. are is a delight and southbound 795. -- here is a delay at southbound 795. no delays from harford county but when you get toward white marsh, that is where it will slow. that is the latest on traffic. >> good morning, everyone. we have some fog and mist out there to start the day. temperatures are below freezing in some of the northern suburbs. there could still be a thin glaze of life is going on. now near the water is warmer, 38 degrees at the inner harbor. a better chance for rain showers as to go into the afternoon with the high temperature around 44 degrees and it will get nicer tomorrow and wednesday with sunshine coming back, maybe >>> 7:30 now on a monday morning, january 23, 2012. a little warmer weather on tap for the northeast after a chilly and snowy weekend in the new york, new england area. just what the doctor ordered for our friends on rockefeller plaza. meanwhile inside studio 1a i'm matt lauer alongside savannah guthrie who's in while ann is taking time off today. just ahead, are you a sucker for a buy one get one free deal? >> every time. >> really? they get you? >> free refills, too. >> maybe you skip your yearly check-up to avoid a costly deductible. a lot of people do things thinking they are saving money and what they are doing could cost them money in the long run. so we'll have advice on how to avoid those things coming up. >> i will be listening. and a rather surprising celebrity split. heidi klum and seal will be separating after seven years of marriage. details on that. >> they have three or four children? >> four, three biological. >> if it seems like tv is getting raunchier that see's bee it is. curse words are on the rise in television shows catching the attention of parents. what should you tell your kids if they copy the language they hear on television and at home. pop culture in general, music, movies, et cetera. >> the whole society. we begin this half hour with a tropical getaway for a family from texas that turned into a fight for survival when their sight-seeing plane crashed into the ocean. we'll talk to a survivor coming up. first, their harrowing story. >> the texas couple was flying with their 4-year-old son when the plane crashed. miraculously, kind strangers were in the right place at the right time to pull off an amazing rescue. a plane ride through paradise for the atkins family. they were hoping to enjoy the sights along the coast of roatan in the caribbean off honduras. andy atkins had flown in the same plane just months before. >> it was an awesome, fun ride. great views, great pictures. a low flying plane that felt very stable. >> reporter: last week, with his wife generaljenny and 4-year-ol logan along, something went wrong. >> we lost an engine and crashed into the ocean, flipped over. we were stuck under water. >> they're all out. >> reporter: larry forsyth was on a nearby boat when he saw the crash. >> holy -- >> reporter: his son paul captured video of the dramatic rescue. >> we all dove in and swam just as quickly as we could. the timing was impeccable. we were just at the right place at the right time. >> reporter: only moments before, the plane's pilot helped andy get to the surface but there was no sign of andy's wife or son. >> i dove back under looking for them. didn't find them the first time. came back, got air, went immediately back down. i just came up and had logan in my arms and by the time i got to the surface, jenny was also at the surface with the pilot holding her. we were all still in shock at that point. you know, we knew we had survived the initial crash. but we didn't know where it was going to go from there. >> reporter: remarkably, a u.s. navy doctor and another physician were among the divers who risked their lives to save the family. >> they screamed there were two doctors on board. they got them on the back of the boat, got them oxygen, treated them with all their skill. >> reporter: the entire family spent days in a hospital before returning home thursday night. >> it reaffirms your faith in people and humanity that so many people stepped in to help that didn't have to. >> reporter: the atkins are already planning another trip to roatan and said the accident brought them closer to the island and the people there. savannah a? >> amy, thank you. andy atkins is with us now exclusively. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> i know you just returned from honduras. you and your family spent time in the hospital. how are you all feeling today? >> we're out of the hospital. we're getting better day by day. >> this was a low flying plane. as you mentioned it was for the purpose of sight-seeing. as i understand it, this happened really fast. what do you remember about the crash? >> really, all i remember is i didn't know we were going to crash before it happened. i looked out the window, out the side of the plane and could see the ocean and the reef. i guess part of me thought it looked a little close. then really the next thing i knew i was upside down in the water, still strapped in. wondering what happened. it took me a second of talking to my brain, you know, to realize, wow, we really crashed. you're not dead. but you've got to get out of here before you drown. >> you say the pilot actually helped you get free of your seat belt. you came up for air and then what was your first thought? >> well, i want to point out that mr. brown, our pilot was in the accident, too. he did everything he could to get us out of the plane. he helped me out. when i was fumbling with the straps and got me to the surface first. as soon as i got there i asked what happened. he said, we lost an engine. he said, where's my wife and kid. he and i started diving down. the first time i couldn't find anything. quickly came back up, dove down again. by that time i think he had helped my wife get out. she pushed the baby with her last bit of consciousness to me. as i brought him to the surface there she was, too, at the surface almost at exactly the same time. >> there you are in the water. already miraculous you survived the crash and you get another lucky break. some people in the area came over with a boat and rescued you, right? >> people from a parasailing boat raced to the scene as fast as they could get there. they were the first boat there. larry forsyth, retired air canada pilot of vancouver, canada, and tranquility bay resort in honduras dived in to save us. his cousin of cold lake, canada, dived in. but the first one in the water was a man named cooney, a local man from honduras. he was the first one in the water. he's the one that took my boy from me and got him out of the water. >> andy, you are blessed indeed. >> i love you, cooney. >> another boat had doctors on it. is there any doubt in your mind that the care helped save your lives? >> my wife and son, i'm not sure what the outcome would have been without the doctors. i shudder to think. they were the second boat that came up. their captain and crew were outstanding. fortunately they had two doctors -- a doctor from montreal, canada, dr. mark arsenault. [speaking french]. >> and a united states navy doctor who asked to be named as a u.s. navy physician. they treated them the whole way. >> you're blessed indeed. what an ordeal for you. we're glad your family is okay. thanks for being with us, sir. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> now let's get a check of the weather from al. >> today's weather is brought to you by robitussi, n. relief made simple. >> good morning. we have friends here from florida. you flew here for $98? where from? >> milwaukee. >> wow! thanks for coming. >> they are getting slammed in california, the pacific northwest. blue mountain, california, they need chains on to get into the mountain passes. they have snow plows out and there is more winter weather where that came from. as far as today is concerned and the week ahead, going to be rainy, above normal temperatures in the east. below normal out west. seeing more snow in the mountains, rain along the coast. midweek period, things warm up there. much above normal to above normal conditions in the east. above normal in the pacific northwest where it will be wet. as we get to the ladder part of the week rain continuing in the east with lake effect snowshowers below normal in the pacific northwest throughout texas. >> good morning, everyone. there could be icing in some neighborhoods this morning. temperatures will warm into the 40's this afternoon. the chance for rain increasing as we head through the day. the best chance for >>> we got a newly minted 13-year-old here and a sweet 16 over here. but you're holding the sign. very good. all right. let's go back to weather.com and weather channel for anything you need weatherwise, 24 hours a day. >> thank you so much. up next, seven things people do to save money that can end up costing them more over the long haul. plus, heidi klum and seal separate after seven years of marriage. we'll have details. first, these messages. -i love this card. -with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, we earn more cash back for the things we buy most. it's 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% on groceries. 3% on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. that's 1% cash back on oscar. ...tony. oscar! 2% back on whatever she'll eat. 3% back on filling up this baby. 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"today" financial editor jean chatzky is here with ways to avoid being penny wise and pound foolish. people think they are making a decision that will save them money and it comes back to haunt them later. let's start with insurance deductibles. they can be expensive so people say, i will avoid going to the doctor for regular check-ups so i don't pay that little bit every time. >> absolutely. as co-pays and deductibles have gone up we have seen it happening more and more. with the eye doctor, the veterinarian and the dentist which is worrying. that's the window. >> you save money now but -- >> you cost yourself in bigger procedures later. >> you mentioned something at the veterinarian. don't forget. that's the same thing with your pets. once they have big problems that's a big expense. >> it absolutely is. >> when you go to credit cards and get these offers and see them all the time. i get them a lot in the mail. they give you a thing saying if you sign up for this credit card we'll give you a discount early on. >> it sounds great. but the minute you don't pay that bill immediately, you're going to start pag interest. interest on store credit cards is high. it can go up to 30%. so you immediately give that discount right back and it can ding your credit score. >> if you're a person who pays your bills in full, is it worth it? >> i don't think so. again, adding those credit cards to your wallet can take your credit score down a notch which can cost you more money for everything that you borrow. >> this next one is important. let's spend time on this. when times are tough, people have to make choices. they prioritize. they allocate where their money goes. you have beaten it down a number of times over the year. you've got to have an emergency fund. people are not a having an emergency fund at the sake of something else. >> at the sake of the retirement fund. when we put money in the emergency fund we are learning less than 1% interest. the money in the retirement account grows for the future. plus if your company offers matching dollars and you are not getting them you're leaving free money on the table. you've got to do both. >> you say if you have a choice, plan for the thing you know is coming and that's old age. >> right. retirement is coming. we have talked so many times about the fact that most people aren't going to have enough for retirement. you need a little bit in the emergency fund but you've got to put the pedal to the metal for retirement. >> you have the same item at different price points. a lot of people to save money get the cheapest item. >> and they get the expensive one when the cheaper one fails them. be careful. >> when is a sale a good idea to take advantage of and when is it a bad idea? >> if you would have bought the item if it were not on sale you're in smooth waters. otherwise, make sure you're going to use it up. >> buy one get one free? >> any of those sales do a number on our brain. they sucker us in. be careful you are buying things you need anyway. >> what about people who drive miles out of their way to buy cheaper gas. >> the folks at wisebread.com did this calculation. it costs us a dollar for every seven miles we drive on average. keep that number in your mind. if you're going out of your way and not saving more than a couple of bucks it's not worth it. >> jean, good advice. up next, a surprising split for seal and heidi klum after this. so i do qualify for that deduction. thanks, man. that's what i'm here for. man: do your simple return with the turbo tax federal free edition, and now get our free one-on-one expert advice live by phone or chat. get the federal free edition at turbotax.com. 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[ male announcer ] the simple joy of being smart. >>> it's not always shocking to hear about a celebrity break-up but a lot of people were surprised to hear about the end of seal and heidi klum's marriage. >> they have four children together including klum's daughter from a previous relationship. they have renewed their views every year on their an verse isry in may. in a joint statement sunday they said they have grown apart, decided to separate after much soul searching. >> apparently it's amicable. one little complicating factor is she does have a seal tattoo on her arm which she's taking steps to adjust and she'll be a spokesperson for posturpedic mattresses. sealy? get it. >> that was a long time to get to it. >> it wasted time so we don't have to talk about the marriage. his stimulant medicine was helping, but some symptoms were still in his way. so the doctor kept eric on his current medicine and added nonstimulant intuniv to his treatment plan. 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[ female announcer ] aveeno daily moisturizing lotion. and for healthy, beautiful hair, try nourish plus haircare. only from aveeno. ." >> this is wbal tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> morning, it is 7:56 in time to check on the morning commute. >> good morning, everyone. we have been dealing with freezing fog out there. as a result, the lais of the biggest problem but there are a few accidents, joppa road and the disabled vehicle at i-70 that may create problems. you can see a lot of volume on the north and west side around bellaire road tour the harrisburg expressway. once you get on to the jfx, average 25 miles per hour down to 28 straight. -- 28th street. the harrisburg expressway is jammed. this is in the area of 295 and coming toward us as southbound traffic. it is not too bad going toward the 32 per and we are seeing delays on 95 coming out of a white marsh. that is the latest. >> good morning, everyone, we still have fog and drizzle this morning grid temperatures are still below freezing in the northwest suburbs. there is still some ice as yet north and west of baltimore. it is warmer downtown and near the water, 35 degrees in annapolis. we should be able to sneak into the 40's this afternoon and a chance for rental increase as we go through the day. the best chance will be this afternoon and rain showers should end tonight. over the next couple of days, 52 degrees to more with sunshine and 47 on wednesday and the next chance for rain thursday into friday and if we see snow, it would be over the weekend with ties >>> we're back now at 8:00 on a monday morning. it is the 23rd day of january, 2012. getting jabbed in the head with this umbrella savannah is holding here. >> do you know how this works? >> i'm not holding the umbrella. what are you talking about? >> it's not raining. it's nice. if these people can be here without umbrellas we can do the same. >> i'm sorry. >> that's all right. i have another eye. it's a little blurry. matt lauer along with savannah guthrie and al roker. coming up, a dramatic story that made a lot of headlines in this area. >> it did. barbara sheehan shot her husband 11 times in their home in queens, new york. she said she had no other choice after suffering years of abuse at his hands she said she feared for her life. she was acquitted of murder, but she still faces jail time. we'll talk to her about that exclusively in a few minutes. >> also we'll talk about the new rules when it comes to cursing, especially on television. a lot of people have children watching television. it seems more and more these days you're hearing some of the words you never would have heard in years past. for example, when you get jabbed in the eye with an umbrella. >> yeah. >> how do you deal with this when your kids are watching? what do you tell them and what should people programming television do about it? >> you showed self-restraint. >> and you have a relationship with your pediatrician and it's gone for a while. >> it's important. >> it is. what if after a while it's not working and you have to break up with your pediatrician? we'll tell you what you need to do and how to go about it. >> it's hard, especially if you have the pediatrician's name tattooed on you somewhere. >> don't bring it up again. that joke was terrible. >> i keep trying. natalie standing by with a check of the headlines. >> good morning, everyone. newt gingrich is campaigning in florida ahead of tonight's republican debate. backed by a surge of momentum from saturday's south carolina primary victory. gingrich appealed on twitter for donations so he can deliver what he calls a knockout punch to mitt romney in next week's florida primary. meantime romney agreed to release his tax returns tomorrow and is accusing gingrich of selling his influence around washington. you can watch the republican debate tonight at 9:00/8:00 central on a special edition of "rock center" with brian williams on nbc. one day after announcing she'll resign this week arizona congresswoman gabrielle giffords attends her final official event today. she'll finish the tucson meet and greet that erupted in gunfire last year. tomorrow night giffords will attend president obama's state of the union address. >>> it's been more than two months since florida mother michelle parker vanished after an appearance on "the people's court." now video may offer more clues. kerry sanders is in fern park, florida, with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. detectives are following multiple leads, none of which so far has solved the in eexplicab disappearance of michelle parker. they believe they may be getting closer now with the new videotape. in this newly released security camera video, the last known image of michelle parker, just three hours before she disappeared. >> i have been doing pretty good. you know? but when i saw that, it makes me cry. >> reporter: you see parker viflting an orlando fast food restaurant. police released the video friday. her 34th birthday. it was last november when the mother of three appeared in a taped episode of "the people's court" with ex-fiance dale smith. >> he said he wanted his ring. so i took it off and i threw it at him. >> reporter: the day the show aired she pulled into this drive-thru. the next day her vehicle was found in a parking lot with the decals removed. police called dale smith the primary and only suspect. smith hasn't commented. his lawyers say he's not involved in parker's disappearance. >> if he's so innocence, take the lie detector test. what do you have to hide? >> reporter: as the search continues, parker's family hopes this latest video leads to a break in the case. detectives believe it will now be somebody who knows something that gives them a tip that ultimately helps them solve this crime. natalie? >> kerry sanders in fern park, florida. thank you. now for a look at what's trending today, our quick round-up of what has you talking online. legendary penn state coach joe paterno is a top search on yahoo and facebook as fans debate his legacy. paterno died sunday from the lung cancer that was diagnosed just days after he was fired over the child sex scandal involving a former assistant. paterno was 85 years old. >>> a story we mentioned earlier also trending on twitter. users are tweeting surprise over the break-up of "project runway" host heidi klum and singer seal after seven years of marriage. in a statement the couple say ises they have grown apart. on friday seal tweeted the message "the end." and facebook posters either love or hate steven tyler's version of the american anthem. ♪ and the rockets red glare ♪ as bombs bursting in air >> the aerosmith frontman with ties to the boston area was cheered by the new england crowd. it is now 8:06. now back outside to matt. i like it. >> i love steven tyler. natalie, thank you very much. now over to al for an update on serious weather down south. al? >> at the top of the program we told everybody about severe storms rolling through alabamacy management officials and in jefferson county, alabama, we have at least two confirmed fatalities. a lot of damage down there. we'll continue to watch the situation. tornado watch in effect in central alabama until 10:00 a.m. as we go to the wide view of the u.s. satellite and radar, you can see the long line of showers and thunderstorms stretching from the great lakes down into the gulf coast. back behind it, we have snow developing. rain, mountain snows in the pacific northwest. rain down to california today. freezing rain in pennsylvania. new york into new england. we have the risk of strong storms down through the southeast. >> good morning, everyone. there could be minor icing in some of the neighborhoods north and west of baltimore to start the day today. temperatures will climb above freezing in most areas. we should make it up to 44. be >>> and that's your latest weather. matt? >> coming up next, a woman facing five years behind bars though she was acquitted of murdering her

alabama today. they were part of a violent weather system crossing the country. as daylight broke, the roar of chainsaws filled the air around birmingham alabama. entire homes had been flattened, roofs peeled off others, and trees snapped in half. >> i ran to the laundry room, got the rest of my family. we were in the laundry room when it actually hit. we could feel the walls vibrating. we heard a loud crash. that was the tree that landed on our roof. >> reporter: the skies lit up overnight when the worst of the weather rolled across alabama, arkansas and missouri. there were reports of at least five tornadoes that touched down. >> busted up a little bit. >> reporter: the bad weather pushed east today and the huge system stretched all the way from the great lakes to the deep south. where the heaviest storms were hitting. they left a trail of power outages with thousands in the dark in arkansas alone. a u.s. marine pleaded guilty today to dereliction of duty in the killing of two dozen iraqis in 2005. staff sergeant frank wuterich agreed to a plea deal that dropped manslaughter and other charges. he will spend a maximum of three months in a military prison. in all, eight marines were charged in the killings at the iraqi town of haditha. the other seven had already been acquitted or had the charges dropped. a prayer service in nigeria today marked the killing of at least 185 people in suicide car bombings last friday. the attack hit police stations and immigration offices in kano, the african nation's second largest city. a

alabama. 400 homes heavily damaged or completely destroyed. lack at the devastation on the ground in birmingham, alabama. take a listen to what the victims say as they described what happened. >> i ran to the laundry room. got the rest of my family. we were in the laundry room when it actually hit. we could hear the walls vibrating. we heard a loud crash of the tree landing on our roof. >> pressure on my body. i said everybody get down now. i covered up. my mother start started back to fall as the floor gave way. i pulled her back. martha: one of the hardest hit areas which is clay, alabamajonathan, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, to you, martha. clay is just outside of the city of birmingham. as you can see behind me, dozens of structures either damaged or destroyed. toppled trees. as you pan over here, you see relief crews did a great job rapidly removing trees and branches from the roads to clear the roads and allow first-responders to get into these areas. everywhere you look you see blue tarps on roofs. we shot some video a little earlier this morning that i want to show you. we took a walk up the hill. we saw this house where the tornado had ripped the roof off the house. one of the walls was missing. as you looked in, it looked like a dollhouse. at the far right of the home you see this pink room with a baby's crib in it. there was this 18-mont old girl was sleeping there. her parents were sleeping you have stairs. then the torenado -- tornado sirens went off. the father describes what happened. >> heard the sirens, woke up and went back to he had about.

birmingham, alabama. some of these homes leveled by the strong winds and heavy rains. emergency officials say roads are now blocked in the area and are reporting that two people were killed in central alabama16-year-old boy and 82-year-old man. we're learning they were found in two separate areas of jefferson county. searchers are going door to door trying to rescue people trapped in their home. much the same in tennessee and arkansas where the same system also destroyed homes and buildings there. hard to believe since this is january, but as many as 16 tornados have been reported throughout the central arkansas. bottom line this morning, parts of tennessee, mississippi and alabama are under a tornado watch, and the death toll sits at two for those deaths in alabama. >> thank you, marla. 6:51. san francisco sheriff ross mirkarimi returns to court today facing three misdemeanor charges related to an alleged case of domestic violence against his wife. last week he pleaded not guilty the charges. the judge is expected to seat trial date today. a sheriff has been ordered to stay away from his wife and son. the mayor asked him whether he can do his job effectively. >> three people are still in

alabama, a local nbc station has posted this photo on its facebook page. hard to make it out but you can see complete destruction, this photo snapped in center point, alabama, which is north of birmingham. we're getting word searchers in birmingham are going house to house right now trying to rescue people trapped in homes but again, no reported deaths there. many parts of the south are under a tornado watch this morning. we'll keep an eye on it and continue to update you throughout the show. >> thank you very much, marla. in the meantime, police are searching for two men who shot at an east palo alto during a robbery attempt. police say the gun men demanded money from the man just after 1:30 on sunday morning. when the 53-year-old victim walked away he was shot in the lower back. he is expected to recover. the robbers got away. >> city police are searching for a driver who hit and killed a pedestrian. it happened around 6:00 yesterday morning near union square. the man died at the scene. they have no details of the driver or the car involved. if you have information please call union city police. >> opening arguments start today for an alleged gang member accused of killing a father a

alabama this cell now north and east of birmingham, more cells behind it, a rough morning for much of the state of alabama. >> we'll check in with you, thank you. >> i remember living in texas, always having that radio power or battery powered radio. >> very smart. >> tv's go out. you lose power. get batteries out if you're up. >> we have new questions in another news story about whether there were more passengers on board. >> kind of bizarre. >> if you think about it it makes sense. unregistered passengers on board the cruise ship off the coast of italy what would that do to the missing and possibly dead? authorities think the cruise liner may have had some extra people now and they are looking into it. the pressure is growing now to speed up the salvage and rescue operation because the island of giglio's mayor is upset about the possible ecological time bomb. authorities are continuing that effort of blasting holes in the ship to try to make it easier for the divers to look, 1500 cabins to search, takes 45 minutes per cabin, they are blasting to get in easier. all of this as the crews found another woman in a life vest yesterday, and another person on saturday. the death toll is rising, 19 missing, 13 dead, dan rivers is live for us this morning in giglio, italy. we talk about the numbers, the toll, dan, with the new report there may have been unregistered passengers, the numbers could shift, right? >> reporter: they could. this is something the guy in charge of the whole operation now has mentioned in one of the briefings to us, that they have records of a phone call from a young hungarian woman to her parents claiming that she was on board the costa concordia after the accident. they have no record of a female hundred g hungarian passenger, if this account is true and there is no reason to disbelieve her parents, she may have been on board as an unregistered passenger, therefore that begs the question, how many others unregistered passengers were on board? either at invitation of the members of the crew or some other kind of way they got on board, but it does mean the total number of missing is now in question. and of course, so therefore is the potential number of people that may have perished. >> dan, something else i found a bit disturbing, the claim by the captain that the company actual hi liked it when the ships went close to land because they call it "tourist navigation" like showboating to fiepromote the cruise ship. what are is -- is the company saying? >> reporter: the costa company denies this. there was an established course and it wasn't his position to die divert from it. it's being linked in the italian press with his initial take on what happened, was exactly that, not only did the company know about it but they condoned it, some reported they ordered it, publicity stunt, effective hi, to show off the boat to people on the island and potentially get more customers. that is being denied by costa, that is his word against their's, but the more this goes on, ashleigh, the more nuggets coming out of the story that make it far from clear what actually happened. we have conflicting accounts about what the captain did, this woman claimed he stayed on the boat, that is at odds with the other testimony we had from the coast guard. >> so many complex layers that still need to be answered and sorted out not until they figure out where the people are. dan, i know you will watch for that. dan rivers live in giglio, italy. >>> 26 minutes past the hour. still ahead, hearing on the mississippi pardons schedule today. could many so of the prisoners released be heading back to prison, including the four murderers. >>> severe weather across the south, tracking the dangerous weather system, there has been a tornado confirmed on the ground north of alabamab marciano is tracking that for you. you are watching "early start." this is cnn, breaking news. >>> it is 5 clock 0 in the east. reports of a roof toward off of a home in tuscaloosa, several trees down, lots of power outages. let's look at the pictures of what the dangerous weather system did late last night in arkansas. as you can imagine, thousands are waking up without power, the storms are moving east, moving fast and i know, rob, you said there was a tornado confirmed on the ground north of alabama. you are tracking this system for us, what can you tell us? >> circulation showing it to be very, very strong near springville, st. clair, calhoun counties. north and east of birmingham. this thing moved to the north of birmingham 30 minutes ago. we showed it to you then. 30 minutes, 40 minutes before that it was in the tuscaloosa area. confirmed reports of damage in tuscaloosa, not sure of the extent of the damage. also damage just north and east of birmingham, alabama with this cell.

alabama. confirmed a tornado has touched down in alabama as you look at the radar. what we know is that it hit southeast of birmingham, no reports of damage at this point in time. obviously, we're continuing to watch the situation. we've got chad meyers off to my right. he's working this, as well. are these live pictures, guys? yes, very ominous skies. birmingham keep in mind that other tornado claimed two lives earlier this week around clay in birmingham, alabama quickly. >>> listen to this here. kidnapped from home, tortured and starved. this is the story of this one woman in the south american country of ecuador. she wasn't a prisoner in some camp. she was a patient in a clinic that claims it could cure her of homosexuality. rafael romo tells her story. >> reporter: she is openly homosexual and is not afraid to speak about it publicly. but the woman says her family didn't feel the same way. five years ago when she was 23 years old, she says her family contacted a center that promised to cure her of her homosexuality. she says that's when the nightmare started. >> on december 8th of 2006, they stormed into my house, overpowered me. they put me inside a van and took me to a so-called therapeutic center. by the time i got there, i was already handcuffed and beat up. >> it was called bridge to life. in december, cnn was granted limited access to the clinic. she endured all kinds of demeaning and abusive treatment during the 18 months she was hel