captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. and it's good to report good news, which tonight has to do with congresswoman gabby giffords. doctors using terms like "lightning speed" now to describe her recovery and her stepped-up progression to rehab. her progress keeps seeming too good to be true, but all these reports about her spirit, her response and the fight in this 40-year-old woman appear to be accurate. we begin with an update on her condition tonight. nbc's janet shamlian remains on this story in houston, texas. hey, janet, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening to you. gabrielle giffords was moved out of intensive care and into a rehab center today. her condition was upgraded from serious to good and a new phase of her recovery now begins. an ambulance carried gabrielle giffords from a houston hospital to its nearby rehab center this morning. a short distance, but a significant step in the congresswoman's recovery. with streets closed and security tight, her husband, astronaut mark kelly, rode up front and offered reporters a thumb's up. gifford had been in the trauma unit since her arrival friday. doctors were waiting for a buildup of fluid in her brain to subside before moving her. >> since gabby arrived last friday, we have noticed daily improvements in her neurological condition. we're very pleased with that. in terms of recovery for brain issues, this is really at lightning speed. >> reporter: doctors say she still has a tracheostomy but they will slowly wean her from that. she is showing no signs of infection and she is already working with a speech pathologist as well as physical and occupational therapists in her new room. later she'll work in this community room allowing her team to work more aggressively toward her long-term recovery. >> we're working on conditioning, strengthening. we're working on maintaining her range of motion. we're performing activities to try to prevent the complications of being in bed for a long time. >> reporter: while all who are working with giffords say they are pleased with her daily progress, there are still daily concerns. >> i would just say that we worry about everything all the time. i think that nothing really unexpected has happened. of all the things we worry about. we're going to continue to worry about all those things and keep her from having those problems. >> reporter: mark kelly has issued a statement indicating there are going to be fewer medical updates going forward, saying the next phase of her recovery was a long road and promising that when there is important news, we will hear about it. brian. >> all right, janet shamlian in houston to start us off tonight. janet, thanks. now to what's become the story of this mean season here in the northeast. we're getting hit again tonight by a messy winter storm encompassing upwards of 19 states before it's all over. the first round this morning. now round two. here's what the storm's path looks like over the next several hours. we're hearing snow totals could be 8, 12, even 14 inches up and along the east coast before it's over. in washington, there's a lot of white swirling around the white house. the storm even affected the president's trip back from andrews air force base by motorcade tonight. tom costello is in northwest washington for us tonight, bracing for round two of this. hey, tom, good evening. >> reporter: brian, as you were in janet's piece there, we had snow thunder here, a very loud crackle of lightning right across the sky. it was really very jarring. d.c., the mid-atlantic, the northeast all getting hit very hard. schools are closed, airlines are cancelling flights and an area that is sick and tired of winter is getting yet another dose. here we go again. that collective groan you hear is from a part of the country once again in the bull's hf eye. >> winter's wrath is targeting the northeast again. >> reporter: snow again, and lots of it. the weather channel's jim cantore is in washington where we're expecting up to 8 inches tonight. >> reporter: after last winter's record snowfall, we're ready to see more records crumble in the snowfall department this winter. hartford, connecticut, within hours of setting their snowiest january on record. yeah, that's another snowstorm getting ready to cripple the east coast. >> reporter: biggest snow totals so far this season, syracuse with 113 inches. ha hartford 59 inches with 50 in january alone. minneapolis 55 inches, boston 50 inches and new york 37 inches. while much of the country is locked in the deep freeze, it's been unusually warm in canada and greenland. we first met climatologist conrad stefan measuring the ice sheet in greenland. he blames the cold, wet weather on an el nino effect and the jetstream which has taken a dip south. >> the east is very cold, lots of snow because the polar air is pulled down from the arctic and the atlantic air is pushed to greenland. >> reporter: scientists say no one weather event can be pinned on climate change but for the winter weary, enough already. >> it's very stressful. hopefully this will be the last one. >> reporter: psychology professor says so many back-to-back storms can wear people down. >> snow after snow, mound after mound after mound is chronic stress. we know that chronic stress depletes the body's resources. >> reporter: a cold or flu often follows, but snow is also in the eye of the beholder. >> no school, no homework, heaven. >> reporter: heaven, as they say. you know, we really have seen a tale of extremes here. 2010 we had record snowfall in the east and then record heat. 2010 was one of the hottest years on record for the planet. brian. >> so it is stressful, but only for adults. for kids it remains fantastic. tom costello in washington. tom, thanks. as we mentioned, president obama hit the road this morning fresh off the state of the union address last night. heading out to a state that will be crucial to him if he's going to win another term in office. our chief white house correspondent tonight exerting the better part of judgment is inside from the weather in the briefing room to bring us the story, the intrepid chuck todd. chuck, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. presidential travel the day after the state of the union to a swing state is almost as traditional as the state of the union itself. so today's stop was wisconsin. arriving in green bay packer country, the nation's most famous chicago bears fan got good-natured ribbing from the hometown faithful. >> let me start by clearing something up. i am not here because i lost a bet. >> reporter: and he stuck to the football theme to reinforce a new white house slogan. >> we're going to need to get serious about winning the future. >> reporter: even quoting the local legend, packers coach vince lombardi. >> he said there is no room for second place. there's only one place in my game, and that's first place. >> reporter: the president was reinforcing a call he made last night, for greater investment and innovation and infrastructure to keep america competitive. >> the future is ours to win. that's how we'll win the future. the first step in winning the future -- >> reporter: while in wisconsin the president toured three manufacturing companies, clean energy factories that he argued are on the cutting edge of innovation. >> oh, the model of the future right here. this is how we're going to win the future. >> reporter: the president's road trip is all part of a white house effort to reach out to struggling midwestern communities hit hardest by the recession. vice president biden was also in the region selling the message in indiana. >> we're capable of achieving great things and, more than anything else, what matters, what matters is sparking a brand new better american future. >> reporter: for the most part republican leaders had nice things to say about the president's state of the union address, but skepticism remained over the debt and deficit. >> in my book, actions speak louder than words. >> i did find his suggestion about spending reduction completely inadequate. >> reporter: but it wasn't just republicans dissenting. in an interview with nbc's kelly o'donnell, senate democratic leader harry reid rejected the president's call for an end to earmarks. >> he should just back off. he's got enough to do without messing in what we do. this is an applause line. it's an effort of the white house to get more power. they have got enough power as it is. >> reporter: politics was just as much on the president's mind on a couple of issues that he did not bring up on last night's state of the union, namely gun control and the middle east, specifically egypt, but an aide tells me that what he said about tunisia last night also was meant to apply to egypt as well, brian. >> all right, chuck todd at the white house. chuck, thanks. now we turn to the middle east, a region vital to u.s. interests and where unrest continues. the people in several cases rising up against their leaders in the arab world. this latest wave of protests started, you'll recall, in tunisia. it's been spreading. the real hot spot tonight is again in egypt where we're joined once again tonight in cairo by itn's john ray. john, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. well, for a second day people took to the streets there angrily protesting against unemployment and high prices and demanding that president hosni mubarak go, and for a second day government forces cracked down hard. thousands defied a ban on demonstrations. and the ferocious assault that came next, riot police chased down a crowd, beating those who could not get away. as police advanced, reinforcements swiftly followed. >> they have promised to crack down today and now it's happening. they just charged into the crowd. we can hear tear gas canisters. >> reporter: this was just one of many clashes, running battles across the center of the capital. an uprising inspired by tunisia. crowds are back on the streets there today as their new government issued an arrest warrant for the ousted president and some members of his family. last night the president of the united states himself took notice. >> let us be clear, the united states of america stands with the people of tunisia and supports the democratic aspirations of all people. >> reporter: no specific mention of ejust a minute or its president, hosni mubarak, for 30 years the united states' best friend in the arab world. but today a blunt message from secretary of state hillary clinton. >> and we urge the egyptian authorities not to prevent peaceful protests. >> reporter: yet as darkness fell, the confrontations continued. so did the clampdown, so did the protests. scenes that a week ago nobody would believe they would ever have witnessed here. so far in these clashes, three protesters and one policeman have died. if there is much more blood spilt, then egypt's western allies might be asked to choose between president and people. >> itn's john ray. john, our thanks for your reporting from the streets of cairo there today. this next piece of news has been coming for some time but now it's official. americans are finally going to be able to say goodbye to the color-coded system of terrorism alerts that every airport traveler knows but no one really understands. the same system that long ago became a punch line and long ago stopped being a real presence in our lives. our own kevin tibbles finds himself at the crossroads of america tonight, chicago o'hare, with more on the news of this phase-out. kevin, the truth is no one knew how to act differently whether it was red or magenta. >> reporter: well, the bottom line is, brian, when it was first brought in it was seen to be a good idea for its time and that was when homeland security chief tom ridge announced to the nation that the nation itself would have a series of color codes in order to let them know exactly whether or not they are safe in order to prevent sort of a 9/11 happening again. now, those color codes obviously would run from red, which made it -- red, which made it look like a serious issue all the way back down to green. i was just turning down the ifb there for a second. now, what happened over time, of course, brian, as you just mentioned, especially for us who are frequent travelers, is that the color orange seemed to take over. the orange almost became almost white noise amongst the traveling public and anecdotally many people that i've spoken to here at o'hare this evening said they perhaps started to not even listen to it anymore because it has been stuck at the color orange since the year 2006 and really hasn't changed. so now that they're going to be getting away from that, in three months' time the homeland security department says that it's going to be coming out with a much more specific, area specific set of warnings that if something would be happening perhaps in your community, then the people in your community would be told that and it wouldn't be spread out all over the system, so it turns out to be sort of like a mind the gap or the doors are about to close situation, brian. >> an era comes to an end. kevin tibbles at chicago o'hare tonight. kevin, thanks. when we come back here tonight, a new year, the same crisis. hundreds line up desperate for help with their mortgages across this country. and later, washington's newest celebrity causing a flap in a place that's usually pretty quiet. of a fundamental idea. it's where ethel percy andrus found a retired teacher living because she could afford nothing else. ethel couldn't ignore the clear need for health and financial security. and it inspired her to found aarp. for over 50 years, we've continued that work, to help all americans pursue their best life. discover more of what we do, for every generation at aarp.org. and the life you want to live. with rheumatoid arthritis, there's the life 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measures, the economy is rebounding from the financial meltdown and the brutal recession, but when it comes to real estate, there's new evidence tonight that the foreclosure crisis isn't going away any time soon in this country. at least 3 million households are expected to face foreclosure in the coming year. and today, an independent watchdog group pronounced the government's effort to help americans save their homes a failure. the story tonight from our senior investigative correspondent, lisa myers. >> reporter: in los angeles today, hundreds of desperate homeowners line up for a chance to get their mortgages modified. >> this is my last hope, yes, of keeping my home. >> reporter: last year she was full of hope after she got a trial modification under the government's loan modification program making home affordable, reducing her monthly payments. but after many months, she was denied a permanent modification. instead, the bank moved toward foreclosure. she was stunned to learn that the bank had counted all her reduced payments under the government program as underpayments, making her loan delinquent. >> everyone i've known who's gone into this program has either decided to short sell their house, foreclose or walk away, because it's a nightmare. >> reporter: today on capitol hill, an independent government watchdog, neil boraski called the results devastating. >> the home affordable modification program has to date been a failure. >> reporter: the numbers, some 2.9 million americans were threatened with foreclosure last year. so far only 522,000 have received permanent modifications under the government's program. still, the obama administration official managing the program calls it a success. >> i think this program can still help a lot of people. i think it's helping the right people. >> reporter: however, both republicans and democrats criticized both the program and the banks servicing the loans. >> there have been some horrendous stories about what services have been doing. >> reporter: boraski called for the treasury department to crack down on servicers, citing them for repeated loss of paperwork and unnecessary delays that harm borrowers and benefit the servicers. >> the treasury has repeatedly cited their ability to impose financial penalties as a stick that they have and we would just encourage them to take the stick out. >> reporter: but the administration says it has little real leverage, which does not offer much hope to gaddick and others in danger of losing their homes. lisa myers, nbc news, washington. and some sobering news from the non-partisan congressional budget office tonight. the federal budget deficit now expected to come in at just under $1.5 trillion this year, the highest ever. the estimate was raised after tax cuts were extended last month. and social security now projected to run a deficit of $45 billion this year. previous estimates said social security payouts would not outrun the payroll taxes that it takes in until 2016. on wall street today, the dow is knocking at that 12,000 level for the first time since june of '08, up 8 points today, closing at 11,985. up next, a fall and a sudden scare for a beloved musician. i love you grandma. grandma just makes me happy. ♪ to know, know, know you grandma is the bestest. the total package. grandpa's cooooooooool. way cool. ♪ grandpa spoils me rotten. ♪ to know, know, know you ♪ is to love... some people call us frick and frack. we do finger painting. this is how grandpa and i roll. ♪ and i do [ pins fall ] grandma's my best friend. my best friend ever. my best friend ever. ♪ [ laughing ] [ boy laughs ] ♪ to know, know, know you after this we're gonna get ice cream. can we go get some ice cream? yeah. ♪ and i do ♪ and i do ♪ and i do ♪ and i do [ malhis day starts thwith his arthritis pain.. that's breakfast with two pills. the morning is over, it's time for two more pills. the day marches on, back to more pills. and when he's finally home... but hang on; just two aleve can keep arthritis pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is steven, who chose aleve and 2 pills for a day free of pain. and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels. jimmy buffet is apparently doing well enough to go home from the hospital, but there were some tense moments on tour in australia when he fell off the stage, landed on the concrete captured on a cell phone video on tmz. most worrisome was the eyeness report that he was out cold for 10 to 15 minutes. but at 64, he is a road warrior and it's going to take more than that to keep him down. the hubble telescope continues to send back astonishing images from deep space. this one is a doozy. it has found the most distant and oldest object ever seen, a galaxy. given how far the light needed to travel for it to be visible, scientists estimate we're seeing it as it appeared 13 billion years ago, just 500 million years after the big bang for those keeping score at home. and whoever put a piano on a side bar on biscayne bay in north miami turning it into a temporary piano bar, well done. please come forward. a lot of people would like to know where it came from and how you pulled it out. they're calling the black and white 88s the newest of the fra keys. when we come back here tonight, case closed in washington in what they're calling a winged victory. can i eat heart healthy without giving up taste? a man can only try... and try...and try. 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[ male announcer ] ask your doctor if cialis for daily use is right for you. for a 30-tablet free trial offer, go to cialis.com. we leave you tonight with a story of a bird on the lam, as it were, a hawk, a general hawk in washington in a place where it shouldn't have been. all the feds experts and all the feds men and women were called out to cage the wayward offender. and we have the whole sore did tale tonight from nbc's pete williams, who proves tonight covering the crime beat in washington includes sometimes birds. >> reporter: january 19th, a library patron reading on the day shift spots an unauthorized visitor. bird experts, no shortage of them in the library of congress, quickly identify it. a juvenile female, coopers hawk, apparently gained entry through a window or an air vent. >> a lot of times pigeons perch on top of the dome. it's a good place for rafters to come and have a little snack. >> reporter: a dragnet is put across the dome so the bird can't swoop down. while the figure watches from above, new witnesses appear below, more interested in the bird than in the books. the hawk proves to be a slippery subject, eluding attempts at capture. 8:30 a.m. today, the hawk's time on the lam comes to an end. the feds and the raptor conservancy of virginia bring a trap with something it can't refuse, two live starlings. >> it cannot resist the movement of these birds. they refused to move because they knew the hawk was there. >> reporter: for 28 minutes, a tense stand-off. the starlings afraid to budge. >> one of them moved its head and the coopers came right down, smacked the top of the trap and was caught just like that. >> reporter: and who are these starling heroes? >> frick and frac. >> reporter: 9 a.m. the coopers hawk is captured and taken from the premises in a box found for rehab after losing weight. turns out after it was dehydrated. could have told you, the library of congress can be a pretty dry place. my name is williams, nbc news, washington. >> just another story in the naked city. that's our broadcast for this wednesday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com
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