state to block a vote on this plan. it s meant to ease the state s budget crisis. a tea party member confronting lawmakers as they got into a car, telling them they have a responsibility to show up. we found out these guys had fled the state of wisconsin so they wouldn t have to do their job in wisconsin. it s a constitutional duty to at least be on the floor of the senate in wisconsin to vote on some very controversial legislation in wisconsin. i mean, at the very least, they should honor their commitment to their oath of office and they should honor their commitment to doing their job in wisconsin. so at least be on the floor to allow a vote. jenna: well now we re hearing the assembly speaker will schedule a vote for later today. listen to this. the senate leader says state patrol officers have been sent to the minority leader s home to return him for the vote. jon: could it get any stranger? mike tobin is live in madison. this issue seems to be no longer just a wisconsin
way down to texas. we re going to check in with our reporter who we ll say drew the short straw covering the storm. while the newscast is on the air, you will see lindsay lohan appearing in front of a judge, this time accused of stealing that necklace. we even have an arrow pointing to it just so you re not confused. that particular piece of jewelry. all that news, plus the positive headline from congresswoman gabrielle giffords staff today. she is talking, and she wants toast. we ll get to all of those stories here. i want to begin in philadelphia with some fast-moving developments in a case that certainly shocked the country. philadelphia dr. kermit gosnell was back in court today along with his wife and several of his employees. gosnell is charged in the death of a patient and authorities say he performed illegal abortions in a filthy clinic with untrained staff. sarah hoi has been following the case. she just got out of court and she s joining me on the phone. i want
i don t think that these are random events. there appears to be an effort to disrupt the ability of journalists to cover today s events. reporter: allaire abi says its journalists were hospitalized. they were beaten seriverely, one almost lost his life. reporter: a retired american nurse living in cairo is now trapped in her apartment. i still have my knife, and the rest of my armory that i will use. reporter: lester holt described his failed attempt to reach her. we re going to move on. but this is the difficulty. we re a minute s walk from where she is, but we can t risk it. reporter: the state department has now tried to reach out to thornberry, but so far has only evacuated those who can get to cairo s airport. meantime, at this white house, the president is monitoring the situation. and this morning, at the national prayer breakfast, looked to a higher power. we pray that the violence in egypt will end. and that the rights ands aspirations of the egypti
lindsay lohan under investigation for grand theft after a pricey missing necklace shows up around her neck. if she stole it, it could spell big trouble for her, thursday, if she stole it, it could spell big trouble for her, thursday, february 3rd, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and welcome to today on this thursday morning. i m meredith vieira. i m matt lauer. let s look at the scene in tahrir square in cairo where members of the egyptian military have placed themselves between anti-government protesters and supporters of hosni mubarak. they have set up barricades between the two sides, but it is unclear how effective they will be. but this morning it is not like the scene overnight where angry clashes turned deadly. constant gunfire could be heard, and trees and cars were set on fire. coming up, we ll talk to an american woman who lives there. she is trapped inside her apartment. she has a dramatic story to tell. let s begin with richard engel
ahead, heavy gunfire, molotov cocktails, brutal altercations. five people have died. more than 830 injured. we understand the violence heating up again even as we speak in advance of what s expected to be a very interesting day tomorrow. the unofficial deadline that some of those protesters have set for the removal of hosni mubarak. we ll have a report from cairo in a moment. plus, a very disturbing story about the sex trade in america. it s a much more widespread problem than you may know about. during the super bowl weekend, thousands of underage girls will be trafficked in and around dallas to service the sex trade there. this morning we ll have the story of young women from a small town in central america, promised a better life in the u.s. only to be raped and forced to be sex slaves in texas. on a much different note, we ll tell you how to get a great deal on your hotel room next time you decide to travel out of town. here at home a blast of arctic air is adding t