♪ this morning on "early today," primary concern. the ballots for south carolina intensifies with a new revelation on what front-runner mitt romney pays in taxes. chicago shocker. a group of teens are charged in the brutal beating and robbery of an illinois boy. bare bones. archeologistuncover prehistory skulls they say could date back to the ice age. hello. good morning. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with a taxing situation. with just two days to go until the south carolina primary, republican presidential

front-runner mitt romney is taking some heat over his rivals over this revelation that he pays a lower tax rate than the average american. it is a topic that is sure to dominate when the candidates square off tonight in north charleston. tracy potts is here with all of those details. >> reporter: the million air front-runner has a couple of financial problems down with the voters in south carolina. first of all, the $374,000 he got in fees last year in an amount he describes not much before the actual amount was released. and also the 15% effective tax rate he is paying romney in an interview said he, he explained it's from an investment, not from wages, from wages that tax rates could be double. romney has promised to release his tax returns but not right away. he says he'll do it in april which, he says, it's traditionally when candidates tend to to do that after the

most recent return is ready. yesterday, one of his strongest supporters chris christie called on him to release the tax returns sooner. sooner is better than later, christie said. in response, romney says he will wait until april to release those returns. expect this issue to come up tonight at the second debate in south carolina. that debate just days before south carolina's primary. lynn? >> thank you. elsewhere, while environmentalists praise it republicans are slamming president obama's decision to block a controversial oil pipeline. the keystone xl project would have carried tar sands across the midwest and down the gulf coast refineries. they were going through environmentally sensitive areas of nebraska but the gop said it would have created thousands of

jobs. newt gingrich called the president's decision, quote, stunningly stupid. the environmental owner will present a new plan with an alternate route. a grounded cruise liner off the coast of italy, the captain of the ship now claims that he tripped and fell from the vessel as it was tilting over last friday. he says he did not intend to abandon his passengers. satellite photographs are being used to monitor the accident site for any signs of fuel leaks. 11 people are confirmed dead. calmer seas allowed the search to resume this morning for 21 people still missing in the disaster. an american couple is among them. here is a look at the stories making news early today in america. a videotaped beating that went viral has led to the arrest of seven chicago teens. battery and robbery charges were filed in connection with a high school student and posted online

by one of the suspects. all but one of the teens have been charged as juveniles. brush fires came close to killing an injured black bear struggling to flee the area after possibly scorching his paws. that's sad to see. the blaze spread 30 acres before dozens of firefighters put the fire under control. looks like the hollywood award season has gone to the dogs. co-stars of the "the artist" were on hand to announce the nominees for the first-ever golden collar awards. honoring the best performing canines in film and television and it will be handed out on february 13th. so cute. now for a look at your national and region weather, here is meteorologist bill karins with a look at the forecast. still best movie dog? "something about mary" is the

movie dog. >> absolutely. i tripped and stumbled off the boat, that's as bad as i tripped and stumbled on the way home from work to the bar. >> that never happens to you, does it. yesterday, the story in the northwest with the snow. the mountainous areas got nailed. portland, about 3 inches and seattle, we had officially 4 inches at the airport. it was enough to cause scenes like this. seattle drivers aren't exactly the most experienced in the snow and in these cases, it showed. the weather pattern, we are in winter finally. it feels like it. it is cold and snowy through much of the northern half of the country this morning. no one is colder than the northern plains. wait until i show you the windchill values. as far as the storm in the west went, significant weather out there in the mountainous areas and pushed into montana and areas of wyoming and northern idaho and utah. it's rain in the valley but the valleys pick up two to three feet there. skiing area in the west

including utah, finally looking good as we head into the upcoming weekend. we expect snow totals in the northern mountains of utah up to near jackson hole, wyoming, there in the feet. other areas, a streak of snow friday into friday night. looks like a minisnowstorm. chicago, be ready and illinois and possibly around treat and who knows, maybe pittsburgh. the windchills are bad this morning. minus 33 in minneapolis and minot minus 45. that's as cold as it's been all winter longer. that's a look at the national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. the cold air bleed through the great lakes. snow showers occasionally in cleveland but nothing too bad today. cold in chicago. temperatures dropping during the day as that cold air filters in. minus 45 or something like that. >> i'm sorry.

what? >> it is very, very cold. >> what makes you survive in that? >> even my northern plains standards, that's cold. >> come visit us in new york. a little warmer. something sweet is happening in florida. your early morning headlines are straight ahead. plus, she is jersey shore's queen of the big hair, heavy mascara leopard look and wait until you see her without any makeup. coming up, the wizards do it again. hollywood sequel for david beckham and a tennis players causes quite a racket at the aussie open. you're watching "early today."

good morning. welcome back. i'm lynn berry. here are your top headlines this morning.

yesterday's online protest against antipiracy legislation may be paying off. a number of of lawmakers are pulling their support of the stop online piracy act and critics fear the bills would create unprecedented censorship. a contractor working for the federal reserve is allegedly copying the code to help his private computer programming business. someone was able to smuggle a magazine published by al qaeda to a detainee at guantanamo bay. one issue contained tips on how to kill americans. authorities say now mail between prisoners and their attorneys is being inspected. good and bad news for the washington monument. a billionaire is coming forward to donate $7.5 million to finish repair work after last summer's earthquake. however, that work will need to keep the monument closed through the rest of the year.

they were all the rage after kate middleton's wedding but do not try to wear a fastener in one part of england. ladies can wear hats but no fasteners in some areas and they are banning some types of dresses. in mexico, archeologists have found the remains of bears, including skulls, that may be 11,000 years old. they were in underwater sink holes inside caves inside the yucatan peninsula. now here is another look at one of your top health headlines on msnbc.com. a new study out today says abortion rates are higher in countries where the procedure is illegal. the report in today's lance it's said half of the abortions in the worldwide are unsafe. the research says there were fewer unwanted pregnancies in country with good access to birth control. for more information on this, and other health stories. check out the health page at msnbc.com.

now here is an early look at how wall street kicked off the day. the dow opens at 12,578 after gaining 96 points yesterday. the s&p added 14 points. the nasdaq climbed 41. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo, the nikkei rose 89 points. while in hong kong, the hang seng rose 256. a triple-header of key economic reports are due out today, including the consumer price index. we will get the latest weekly update on unemployment claims. plus, stats on new housing starts. earnings reports are due this morning from bank of america. and other financial stocks like morgan stanley. investment bank goldman sachs net income declined 58% in the fourth quarter but the company still made a billion dollars and beat analyst estimates.

eb ebay's net income in the fourth quarter was almost $2 billion and helped by higher revenue on the sale of its remaining interest in skype. factory output surged in december by the most in the year. stronger demands for business equipment and business and energy. foreign demands for u.s. treasury debt rose in november to the highest level ever. total foreign holdings increased to 4.75 trillion dollars. the international monetary fund plans to raise an extra ks 500 billion so it can issue new loans. the imf says the euro zone nations may need to borrow a trill dollars in the coming years. eastman kodak filed for bankruptcy. the company has had years of falling sales and the decline of its film business. air fares are going up yet again. delta air lines increased fares by $4 to $10 across much of the

u.s. a florida cop has been chosen as the best chocolate in america. this is the sixth year in a row that vorman love affections won the top honor. steve nash debuts for the knicks and david beckham decides he is staying in l.a. who says there is no more fire in personality in professional tennis? get it all out there, buddy. your "early morning" sports headlines are straight ahead. snow is heading for many areas. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports the nba washington wizards have having that kind of year. when they win a game, it's the lead story. here is fred roggin with a look at all of your sports headlines. last week the wizards picked up first win of the season and yesterday beat the best team in the league, win number two. wizards shocked everybody including themselves against the thunder. jordan crawford up top to wall. he had a team high 25. nick young caught fire behind the arc and a couple of threes

behind the stretch. wizards win in a thriller. gary neal hit one shot all game but gave the spurs the lead in o.t. magic with a chance in the final second. j.j. redick drains the three for the win but he didn't get it off in time. spurs won their first road game of the year, 85-83 in o. one fan is green and one who is anything but lean. the nuggets trim the fat against the sixers. andre miller scored the final ten points in regulation and hit the winning shot in o.t. denver wins. what is up with the knicks? steve nash handed the knicks their fourth straight loss. spike lee didn't look happy. phoenix wins it. rangers sign a pitcher ace in japan. and david beckham re-signed with

the l.a. galaxy. marco and his rackets, frustrated with his play. he took it out on his equipment. after smashing one racket, he moved on to another. then he moved on to another. and, yep, one good for good measure. he broke four rackets and two of them still in the plastic. john mcenroe would have been proud. one huge temper tantrum for marco baghdadis. >> that is your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. mark wahlberg says he is sorry and rob lowe, sports reporter? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. you make it to the hospital through a snowstorm only to get stuck in the elevator. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today" on this thursday morning. what a cold morning in the northern plains. temperatures in the single digits if you're lucky and windchills minus 30 to minus 40. the cold air is heading for the great lakes today. tomorrow, the lower great lakes, a little minisnowstorm, including chicago. if you're watching on wxai live in atlanta, georgia, learn of the life of a trail blazing scientist and humanitarian, george washington carver at the jimmy carter library and museum. that is your "early today" event of the today. here is a look at the

headlines in entertainment. actor rob lowe may have scored a big sports scoop on wednesday. let the whole world know about it via twitter. he set both the social networking and pro football work on their ears wednesday after tweeting that his favorite indianapolis colts quarterback peyton manning was retiring. manning sat out the season with an injury and is thought to be on the trading block but, until yesterday, no one even mentioned the possibility of retirement. lowe, who is known to be friends with the colts owner, says he hopes his source is wrong. backlash has forced mark wahlberg to men's journal during an interview. he would have stopped terrorists from flying an airliner into the world trade center on september 11th if he had been on the plane. snooki known for her makeup and wild hair styles took to twitter yesterday. look at this! this is a picket of her completely natural and it's leaving many -- >> kind of pretty. >> that's what i mean.

a lot of people are wondering why she bothers putting any makeup on. she looks beautiful there. lovely. stay away from the bronzer! this come king 5 news in seattle, washington. in nearby, tacoma, traveling to the hospital during a snowstorm was much easier than getting to the delivery room for one expected couple. katie was moments away when she got stuck on the elevator with her mid wife and news crew. her husband heard the cries of their newborn son through the doors. no longer willing to wait he crawled to the trapped elevator to see his wife and newborn baby boy. i know. so great. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," your first stop of the day on your nbc station.

4:28 is our time right now. we have 31 degrees outside it is below freezing. good morning. i'm joe krebs. >> i'm eun yang. welcome to news 4 today. today the national park service will announce a billionaire history buff will donate $7.5 million to repair the washington monument. the repairs will cost $15 million. congress approved funding for half of the bill.

today the park service will announce philanthropist david rubinstein will donate the rest of the group. rubinstein is no stranger to large donations. he recently gave $4.5 million to the national zoo's panda program, one of washington's top tourism officials tells new 4 he's glad the repairs can begin. >> it's good news that the monies are in place to continue with the renovation and get the monument back open again. from a tourism perspective, it's good for us overall, but the fact that it's closed right now does not deter people from coming to washington. >> the national park service says the restoration project could take up to a year to complete. a form mt. rainier police officer will learn his fate today nearly two months after pleading guilty to attempted murder. gene gillette was said to have lured a man to his capital heights home