i get this generation of college kids seems determined to document it all online, where it will live forever, a permanent testament to shameless idiocy. perhaps that fact is punishment enough, though, on the "ridiculist." hey, that's it for us. thanks for watching. "early start" begins now. "early start" begins now. have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com new terror threat against the olympics, just two weeks away now. now there are new, serious concerns about whether the athletes and fans will really be safe. we're live with the latest. an al qaeda plot to blow up a u.s. embassy. new information overnight. we're live with the latest developments. and cold is a four-letter word. millions waking up this morning under a dangerous deep freeze. the bad news? it's frigid. the worst news? it's staying. indra petersons live outside in the cold, smiling still, but tracking the brutal weather. >> and that's the good news part of the story. >> that's right.

>> is that indra's on it for us. good morning. welcome to "early start." i'm chrissitine romans. >> i'm john berman. january 23rd, 5:00 a.m. in the east snp we begin with the cold, hard truth. if you dare to crack open your window this morning, you're going to know it pretty fast, it's icy out there. the snow that made getting around treacherous from kentucky to maine has now given way to bone-chilling temperatures and windchills, and it has turned deadly. at least three people have now died, apparently because of the cold weather. indra petersons tracking this deep freeze for us from the cold outside in new york city. indra, how long is this going to hang around? >> this is the one time i actually have the worst news of all, because as of right now, we're looking at system after system making its way through. each one of these a cold enough system that it's going to continue to reinforce that cold air. so, to answer your question, as of right now, looks like all the way even in through next week, so the end of the month, we could be talking about this arctic chill out there. this is so painful. we're talking about temperatures already just in the single

digits for many places in the northeast, but we haven't even factored in the windchill yet, right? once you do that, we're talking about subzero temperatures into the northeast, but check out the upper midwest. there with the windchill, we're talking about a good 20 if not 30 below. so, very difficult. what are we dealing with? they're clipper systems, so they're coming out of canada, these alberta clippers. each one of these is going to kind of swing through, reinforce the cold air and continue to bring some snow. so, today, upper midwest, maybe the upper ohio valley, some lake-effect snow. we'll start seeing some of that, but here's the concern. as long as each one of these systems makes its way through, the cold air is not just spreading in that region, but it's kind of a jet stream that's diving all the way down even into the southeast. so, the southeast also with temperatures ten degrees below normal. the other thing we're talking about, the super bowl is in new york city in a couple weeks. the concern is, each of these clippers has an interesting track and they're hard to follow, so for now, we'll be monitoring whether or not we actually have another system bringing heavy snow by next week. so, we'll be monitoring closely for you guys. >> and i know you know at

metlife stadium, they've already got the big tents, already got crews in there clearing out the snow we have already, because we are getting closer and closer to the super bowl and this very cold weather. thanks, indra. >> what if there are empty seetst seats at the super bowl? that would be scandalous. all right, moving on, the olympics with new fears leaving athletes and fans on edge this morning. this coming after e-mail threats warning the u.s. and other olympic committees of a terror attack. meanwhile, authorities continue the desperate search for a group of so-called black widows. these are women who could be suicide bombers. and all this is happening with the winter games now just 15 days away. nick paton walsh is in sochi this morning with the latest. nick, what can you tell us about this? >> reporter: well, that e-mail threat you talked about that went to at least four european nations, that was played down by the international olympic committee as being a sort of random message, they said perhaps sent by a member of the public, but it contained

threatening ideas about perhaps blowing up attendees at the games here and fed into this broader concern about suicide bombers, the black widows being hunted for, you mentioned. there are pictures going around the hotels with faces of people they're looking for. it feeds into the sense of not helplessness, but concern surrounding the games. there is a dragnet, a ring of steel, thousands of police officers here in many ways trying to stop things from happening. they may be successful around the games themselves, but across all of russia's southern region, very volatile, that's unlikely to be completely successful, john. >> the russian government has faced a lot of questions over the last few days over whether it is ready for the games. what's the latest on what they're saying, nick? >> reporter: well, i mean, i'm going around town here seeing on a private level commercial concerns in a hurry to get things ready. i was inside the cordon. it seemed like they were pretty close to having what they needed, but the real issue is, of course, security. and speaking to our christian

a.m.en pour, russian president dmitry medvedev said we're in a constant struggle against terrorism here. sometimes it's successful, sometimes it's not. they're going to do what they can. they say they hope to keep everything here as quiet as possible. there is an enormous security separation happening here. excuse me while a plane goes under ved, a busy airport here bringing in guests. but no matter how much security you have here, the determination of those wanting to strike the games is much that many are concerned there is not necessarily a huge amount you can do securitywise to guarantee they will not have any kind of success. john? >> that is the big concern, isn't it? nick paton walsh for us on the ground in sochi. this will be such a big story over the next two weeks. thanks to you, nick. now to israel and a terror plot disrupted. authorities stopping three men who they say planned to blow up the u.s. embassy in tel aviv and the jerusalem convention center. ben wedeman live in jerusalem with the latest for us this

morning. ben, what can you tell us about this plot? >> reporter: yes, christine, this plot was announced by shin bet, israel's formidable domestic security agency, which says they arrested these three men, two in jerusalem, one in the northern west bank, who were recruited by a man in gaza. and apparently, the plan was for one of those three men to travel from here to turkey and then into northern syria where he would receive military training. in the meantime, the same men received instructions from his recruiter in gaza on how to manufacture explosive devices. when this man returns from syria, he was supposed to get in touch with what are described as foreign terrorists who would have entered israel with forged russian passports. now, one of the targets they were looking at was the u.s. embassy in tel aviv as well as the international convention center here in jerusalem, really not far from where i'm standing. in addition, they would have attacked an israeli bus on the

west bank. now, what's significant here, of course, is the whole syrian element. but also, according to israeli officials, the direct involvement of al qaeda, something that really hasn't happened here until now. now, we spoke this morning with a source at shin bet who told us, i cannot tell you if he, ayman al zawahiri, the leader of al qaeda, spoke to him, the man in gaza, but the way he operated was coordinated with ayman zawahiri. if al qaeda is going to start launching attacks here in israel, of course, they will be facing some formidable security agencies with a long track record of cracking up cells like this. >> yeah, and the syria angle is interesting there, too. ben wedeman live for us this morning. thank you, ben. all right, breaking news overnight. we are now hearing a new audio message purportedly from al qaeda leader ayman al zawahiri. you just heard ben wedeman speaking about him. zawahiri is calling for an end

to the infighting between rebel groups in syria, saying all sides need to unite against bashar al assad. this as the assad regime and the opposition are in switzerland for a conference aimed at ending the war. they're set to spend time independently with the u.n. mediator today, this after a really rocky start to the talks. secretary of state john kerry insisting peace is not possible if syria's president remains in power, and that's not sitting well with the syrians. >> there is no one who has done more to make syria a magnet for terrorists than bashar al assad. >> the statements and the speeches of most of those who took the floor today did not encourage the national political dialogue. >> formal face-to-face talks are tentatively scheduled to begin tomorrow, but the big news today, overnight, this new audio message from al qaeda leader ayman al zawahiri, and that's

significant because it may play into bashar al assad's scheme. he says he's fighting against al qaeda elements in syria. this may bolster his arguments. >> really interesting stuff there. all right in ukraine this morning, there is a tense standoff between the protesters and the government a day after at least three people were killed in explosive clashes. those protesters are demanding the president call early elections by the end of today. they're promising they will take action if their demands are not met. both sides have been talking with hopes there could be a peaceful solution to this tense, tense conflict there. new this morning, new condemnation of the nsa's phone surveillance program. an independent federal privacy watchdog in a new report set to be released today says the spy program is illegal and should be shut down. the report was obtained by "the new york times," and the panel says the collection of the bulk telephone data raises "serious threats to privacy and civil liberties." meanwhile, the man who brought the nsa's program to light, edward snowden, he's going to go public today, answering questions from anyone in a virtual town hall, or at

least any question he chooses to answer. your query can be submitted via twitter with #asksnowden. and his responses will be posted on the website freesnowden.is. >> #provocative. congress has been put on notice, the debt ceiling is about to be hit again. are you ready for this? >> no. >> treasury secretary jack lew sent a letter to the leaders of the house and senate saying the government will exhaust its ability to borrow by late february. those are the extraordinary measures, right? this means they will have to work together, he says, to raise the debt ceiling or risk default. there is hope in some circles that the bipartisan budget deal reached earlier this month might be a sign that both sides want common ground to avoid a fiscal crisis, but -- >> avoiding a fiscal crisis is a good idea. >> you think? >> in general. yeah, i'm bullish on avoiding fiscal crises. a look at the markets this thursday morning. dow futures down a little bit following a slide on the dow yesterday. in europe, markets are generally higher. and in japan, the nikkei fell

just a tiny bit there. a long talked-about deal with s a reality this morning. china's lynn yoevo will buy ibm's low-end server business for $2 billion. also, the stock of netflix is up 16% after hours. it reported a big jump in new subscribers, its best quarterly performance in three years. people like the stuff that netflix has to offer. ebay's stock up 8% after it said it had stronger profits, also boosting the stock, shareholder carl icahn's call for ebay to convert paypal into a separate company, split it up, right? ebay says it's not interested in doing that right now, but when you have a billionaire with a big stake in the company who tells you what to do -- actually, carl icahn, but anyway, people tend to listen. >> that's all right, he can afford the consonant. if he wants to buy an "l," he can buy one. we have a story now of a very enterprising college student who's spending today and the next two months trying to

pay off his student loans in a pretty unique way. alex benda owes about $30,000 for his education at university of michigan in flint, so he started selling ad space on his graduation cap, the mortar board. each 1-inch square will cost $300. >> to pay that type of debt at the interest rate that i have to pay, i'm going to be doing this for a lot longer than i ever went to school. and so, i was just hoping that maybe this might be a way to just see if anyone can help me out there. >> i love this idea. if you can't afford the ad space, he does have some lower-cost options, like $1 for a high five or $10 for a handwritten thank-you letter. so far, he says he's raised 1,550 bucks, so it's working to some extent. >> can we get an "early start" sticker on the top? >> we don't have the budget for that. we can get a high five, though. 12 minutes after the hour. coming up for us, new developments for us this morning into the investigation into new

jersey governor chris christie. who the fbi is asking questions of now. and their water was contaminated, deemed unsafe for days. now there's a new concern for hundreds of thousands of people in west virginia. that's next. [ male announcer ] the new new york is open. open to innovation. open to ambition. open to bold ideas. that's why new york has a new plan -- dozens of tax free zones all across the state. move here, expand here, or start a new business here and pay no taxes for ten years...

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murdering a police officer in 1994. this went forward despite pleas and diplomatic pressure from mexico's government and u.s. state department. the supreme court rejected a final appeal. the issue was whether he had consultation with mexican authorities when initially charged. this morning, we're learning about a new twist into the investigation of new jersey governor chris christie. nbc news is reporting fbi agents have begun to question hoboken mayor dawn zimmer and some of her key aides. she has said members of the christie administration pressured her to support a development project in exchange for hurricane sandy relief money. the u.s. attorney's office has now told zimmer to stop giving interviews about her claims as they investigate. christie's office strongly denies those allegations. virginia's former governor will have to appear in court tomorrow now that a judge has refused to delay bob mcdonnell's initial appearance on charges that he and his wife illegally accepted gifts and loans from a wealthy businessman. the pair is expected to be arraigned in richmond on friday. this comes as a former

democratic governor is defending the republican. former governor bob mcdonnell. senator mark warner is saying mcdonnell and his wife deserve a presumption of innocence, even though he says there needs to be changes in the rules over accepting gifts. >> we need to have the kind of reform that doesn't leave these kind of gray areas about what kind of gifts can be given and the appropriate level of disclosure. >> just to review what some of the gifts were. we're talking about clothes, shopping sprees, a rolex watch. >> louis vuitton shoes. >> shoes, you know, golf outings for the kids of the governor. so, there's a lot going on here. the former governor, bob mcdonnell, pledges to fight the charges, calling it an unjust overreach. >> what it a poor judgment or quid pro quo? >> and the laws in virginia incredibly lax on this. this morning, she says she's still in shock. nicole oulson saw her husband killed in a florida movie theater, shot right there with her, apparently for texting

during the previews. oulson herself was hit in the arm. she wore a pink cast as she spoke with reporters about what happened. >> me and my husband didn't get a date night very often, much less a whole day to spend together, so i was just so excited and looking forward to spending the day with the love of my life at a place of entertainment, you know, family entertainment. and just to think that in the blink of an eye, my whole world just got shattered into a million pieces, and now i'm left trying to pick them up and put them all back together, and it's so hard and it's so unbearable. >> can't imagine how unbearable it is. >> just heartbreaking. >> she says their little daughter doesn't understand what happened to her father. >> i don't understand. >> i don't even know how you would begin to explain it to a child. the suspect in the shooting, 71-year-old curtis reeves, there he is, still in jail being held without bond. he's a retired police officer and he told police after the shooting that he was afraid of being attacked. 18 minutes after the hour right now.

an 88-year-old nevada man who says he killed his wife to end her suffering is now facing murder charges. william dresser told police his wife was paralyzed in a fall two weeks ago. he says he entered her hospital room with a loaded gun, intended to kill her and then himself. she died three days after the shooting. this couple was reportedly married for 63 years. classes resume today at purdue university in indiana, two days after a student was shot dead in the electrical engineering building and just hours after a new scare on the purdue campus. there were reports of gunfire wednesday night at a student apartment complex. those turned out to be unfounded. new developments in the chemical spill that left 300,000 west virginia residents without water earlier this month. the company responsible for the spill now says it involved two chemicals, not just one. the second chemical, which made up just a small part of the 7,500-gallon leak is apparently less toxic than the first. still, residents and officials are outraged that they weren't told sooner that there were two.

this morning, fire crews in mississippi are battling a huge blaze at a biodiesel plant not far from tupelo. the fire burning so hot, firefighters can't get close enough to it to put it out. several homes nearby have been evacuated. but you know, amazingly, no one has been hurt. you look at those pictures. no one has been hurt. officials say chemical tanks at the facility are secure. that plant converts chicken fat to alternative fuel. >> huh. >> yeah. all right, toronto mayor rob ford, he's on the think defensive this morning, refusing to apologize for his latest outburst caught on camera. here it is here, showing the mayor speaking with a jamaican accent, seemingly babbling inside a restaurant. ford has already admitted he was drinking in this incident. and this is despite declaring himself sober last year. now he's telling reporters that what he does on his own time is his own business.

>> i'm entitled to a personal life. and my personal life does not interfere with the work i do day in and day out for the taxpayers of this great city. monday was unfortunate. i had a minor setback. >> so when reporters tried to ask him about the video and whether he was now taking drugs again, he walked away from the podium. ford already had most of his power stripped. he insists he is working to improve his health and wellbeing. again, he said he had been sober for a while. >> he has a hard-core set of supporters, though, in toronto, right? i mean, sort of the regular joe. he really goes for the sort of regular joe image. and some of his supporters are really sticking by him. >> and he says that he wants to keep his private life private, but he's also said publicly that he stopped drinking. so, there is a bit of a conflict there. >> when you're a public figure, it's hard to keep a private life private when you in public are behaving like this. >> good point. all right, coming up -- >> the yankees making a big move

for a new pitcher, a big-money big move, $155 million on the line for a guy who's never thrown a pitch in the big leagues in the u.s. andy scholes breaks down this deal right after the break. ♪ ♪ so you can have a getaway from what you know. so you can be surprised by what you don't. get two times the points on travel and dining at restaurants from chase sapphire preferred. so you can taste something that wakes up your soul. chase sapphire preferred. so you can.

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money, and they are doing it big time right now. they just signed perhaps the most sensational free agent on the market, masahiro tanaka, a monster deal, never pitched in the big leagues. andy scholes joins us to explain the whole deal to us. >> good morning, guys. this is why they call them the evil empire. the yankees outbid everyone once again and signed tanaka to a seven-year, $155 million deal. that's the richest contract ever for an international free agent. everyone in baseball wanted tanaka, even though, as you said, john, he's never thrown a pitch in the u.s. well, it's because he's pretty awesome in japan. the 25-year-old is perfect, 24-0 last season in the japan professional league. now, with tanaka in the fold, the yankees have now spent nearly $500 million on free agents just this offseason. all right, this morning's edition of "usa today" has a preview of team usa's opening ceremony uniforms. unlike the 2012 summer olympic unis, which received criticism for being made in china, these

are made solely in the usa by ralph lauren and other vendors. the sweater looks pretty awesome. you can see it right there, the american flag with stars and stripes all over it, but if you want one of these bad boys, it's not cheap. retails for $598. you can get the reindeer hat, though, for 98 bucks. all right, one of the top stories in the lineup section on bleacherreport.com today, an oakland raiders cheerleaders is suing the team, accusing them of wage theft. the suit claims when the season was all said and done, the cheerleaders ended up making less than $5 an hour. it also claims the raiderettes incurred other costs, such as being fined for bringing the wrong pom-poms aor not bringinga yoga mat to practice. depending what team you cheer for, cheerleaders generally make between $75 and $100 per game. the raiders declined to comment on the lawsuit. there was one positive to the snowstorm that hit the niece this week. it gave the met life personnel a

dress rehearsal to see how long it would take to get the venue super bowl ready. now, they had 1,300 workers removing the 13 inches of snow that fell in and around the stadium. now, the crews started removing it at about 8:00 a.m., and they had sections of the stadium and most of the tarp covered, field cleared by noon. so, not bad. >> you know, andy, i've been watching sort of the metamorphosis over there. they have these big -- i mean, they have these big tents that are going up, they're getting super bowl ready, they really are. it's going to be cool. >> out there in the swamps, right? >> but they have their fingers crossed, andy. this cold and snow could be a serious problem for that big game. >> yeah, fans going to the game are actually going to get sort of a winter weather survival kit. you get mittens, a beanie, lip balm, even one of those -- >> a flask. sorry, did i say that out loud? >> i'll take the lip balm. you'll take the flask. andy, thank you so much. >> have a good one. coming up next, the top headlines, everything you need to know for your day, including the latest on this incredible frigid temperatures hitting

millions of people this morning. we'll be right back. the secret is out. hydration is in.

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breaking news overnight. a new message from al qaeda, as tensions rise in the talk for a new syria, why terrorists are setting their sights on the war-torn country. we're live. new terror threat on the olympics. has russia dropped the ball on keeping athletes, fans and these games safe? dangerous, bone-chilling cold weather blanketing the country, millions waking up to below-freezing temperatures again. indra petersons tracking how cold it's going to get and how long it's going to stick around! >> we saw the sad face, then the happy face from indra there. i think that says it all. welcome back to "early start," everyone. i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. it's 31 minutes after the hour this morning. this morning we have definitive proof that cold is, in fact, a four-letter word. it is cold, freaking cold, folks. dangerously cold over a big chunk of the country, from the northeast to the midwest. temperatures are not even going to get close to freezing and the

windchills, i mean, wretched. at least three people have now died, apparently because of this cold. as we said, this can be very, very dangerous. indra petersons is tracking the deep freeze for us. we put her outside in the cold here in new york city. indra, what can we expect today? >> yeah, no better way to track it, right? right now new york city feeling like 4 below. let's talk about a lot of these current temperatures, because this cold air mass is now in place, and here's the concern, it is not expected to go anywhere. we're talking about several clippers that are going to be making their way through, reinforcing the cold air. so, what you're feeling this morning, these current temperatures, single digits in the northeast, but once you add in the windchill, we're talking about subzero temperatures. into the upper midwest, 20 to 30 below. that's the problem, we have this huge, all of a sudden bull's eye, dome of high pressure. that's the cold air, and that's expected to sag farther down to the south, meaning that cold air's going to continue dropping down to the south as well. so, that's kind of the pattern as far as where the cold air is, but it's not the only thing. we have these things called clippers. they're alberta clippers.

they come down from canada. and right now we're kind of in a weather pattern where just a series of them are going to keep swinging on through, each one of them bringing a certain amount of snow. and i say certain amount because each one, depending on how far south the tracks and whether or not it intersects with the ocean, like we saw just a few days ago, will depend on how much snow you're going to be getting out of these systems. either way, each one will reinforce that cold air. that's the concern moving forward. so, this pattern's really here to stay, and cold air in the east, out west, big dome of high pressure and record-breaking heat. so, really kind of huge contrast as you look across the country, guys. >> bummer. that's all i can say is it's cold and it's going to stick around for a long time. indra petersons, thank you so much. now to breaking news overnight. a new audio message purportedly from al qaeda leader ayman al zawahiri, calling for an end to the infighting between rebel groups in syria. this as the assad regime and the opposition are in switzerland for fragile talks right now aimed at ending the war. nic robertson is live in switzerland at this peace conference.

nic, what effect do you think this is going to have on the talks there? >> reporter: well, the rebels and the opposition see this statement by ayman al zawahiri as showing that the al qaeda elements are losing, and they think that this means that the way that bashar al assad uses what they call the terrorist card, by saying it's fighting terrorism, is going to lose that. so, the opposition thinks this is good for them, because there are moderate rebels fighting al qaeda. the message coming from ayman al zawahiri, that all the al qaeda elements, rebels inside syria should unite is an indication to the opposition that they're doing well and this is definitely to their advantage. we've been hearing, though, from secretary of state kerry and from the syrians just how divided the sides here are over the issue of what happens to bashar al assad. listen to what john kerry and the syrians had to say.

>> there is no one who has done more to make syria a magnet for terrorists than bashar al assad. >> the statements and speeches of most of those who took the floor today did not encourage the national political dialogue. >> reporter: and it's that statement about john kerry and the terrorists in light of this message from the al qaeda leader that makes them think that they're doing the right things, they've got the right moves on the ground right now, the moderate rebels taking on these extremist rebels, the al qaeda rebels there. back to you. >> nic robertson for us this morning in switzerland. and still three years of civil war, nothing changing on the ground for the people of syria yet. all right, 35 minutes after the hour. russian leaders this morning are trying to reassure the public that the olympics in sochi will be safe, but the threats and concerns are growing, especially

with the news that the u.s. olympic committee and several european committees have received an e-mailed threat, warning of a terror attack at the games. now, a massive security crackdown in and around sochi still has not been able to find at least two suspected female terror bombers, so-called black widows, and there are now real fears that something very, very bad could happen at the games. >> most specific threat we've seen at an olympic games, frankly, in recent memory, certainly post 9/11. during the athens games, there were threats. we worked with the greek authorities to thwart them. but what makes this different is that, one, you've got a group that is clearly capable of looking at the most recent volgograd bombings. two, they're inside kind of the perimeter, the borders of the country that is the host country for the olympics. and they've actually sort of stated their intentions. and so, intentions, capability and access, all those three things combined make this a

very, very serious threat. >> still, russian prime minister dmitry medvedev tells christiane amanpour they are ready to keep the games safe. developing in israel, more details on an alleged al qaeda plot to blow up the u.s. embassy in tel aviv. israeli officials say three men now arrested as part of a terror cell planning a double suicide bombing targeting the american embassy and the jerusalem convention center. and then, apparently, planning a shooting attack on a bus leading to an israeli settlement. >> we've been in contact with the israeli government regarding these threats. we're closely following the situation. we employ a wide range of security measures to safeguard u.s. citizens and our employees who work around the world, certainly here. >> they may have had the pralan on the books, may have sent people here and there, but al qaeda cannot operate in the west bank or jerusalem or gaza. it's just too difficult for them. they couldn't make a concerted attack. they'd like to, yes.

the israelis have the place well too wired to get away with this. >> the israeli intelligence agency says the ringleader planned to go to syria for training and had computer files showing how to manufacture the explosives. we're hearing this morning from iran's foreign minister about the details of the nuclear deal that his country reached with the west. mohammed jarif says the white house is misrepresenting what iran agreed to do and that its nuclear program will continue, just with some concessions. >> what iran has agreed is not to enrich above 5%. we did not agree to dismantle anything. what we agreed to was not to enrich over 5%. we agreed that, and we're not enriching over 5%, but we're not dismantling any centrifuges, we are not dismantling any equipment. we're simply not producing, not enriching over 5%.

>> the white house responded with a senior administration official calling zarif's comments spin intended for the citizens back home in iran. new this morning, the nsa's phone surveillance program is being called illegal and a serious threat to civil liberties. an independent federal privacy watchdog in a new report set to be released today says the spy program should be shut down. the report was obtained by "the new york times," says the collection of bulk telephone data lacks a viable legal foundation. meantime, nsa leaker edward snowden will open up today online. he is going to answer questions in a virtual town hall. these questions can be submitted via twitter with the hashtag #asksnowden, and his responses will be posted on the website freesnowden.is, meaning he will only have to answer the questions that he actually wants to answer. all right, the clock is ticking this morning toward another debt ceiling deadline. treasury secretary jack lew now says the government will exhaust its ability to borrow money by

late february, meaning democrats and republicans in congress will have to work together to raise the debt ceiling or the u.s. can't borrow more money to pay its bills. the u.s. every month is spending more money than it brings in. there's hope in some circles that the bipartisan budget deal reached earlier this month might be a sign both sides can work together to avoid another fiscal crisis. >> just refresh my memory, how bad is it if they don't reach a debt ceiling deal? >> it's bad. it's bad, ridiculous and bad. a look at the markets this thursday morning, dow futures down following a slide on wednesday. in europe right now, markets generally lower. in japan, the nikkei closed. it's down a little tiny bit, just about 0.8%. ibm is a step closer to getting out of the computer hardware business. china's lenovo has finally reached a deal to buy ibm's low-end server operations for $2.3 billion, leaving the computer giant able to focus more on consulting. watching netflix this morning, too. do you subscribe to netflix? >> yes. >> uh huh. its stock is soaring in

after-hours trading because so many people are signing up for netflix. the company worting it added more than 2 million subscribers to the end of the year. lots of people want to watch "house of cards," "orange is the new black." you've got netflix, which is basically a television studio, too, right? also, ebay reporting stronger profits. investors are excited about a proposal from the billionaire shareholder carl icahn, who wants ebay to spin off its paypal business into something else, into a separate company. ebay says it won't do that. paypal is ebay's biggest growing operation. >> yeah, paypal literally cranks money for them, so i hope they can spin that off any time soon. coming up at the top of the hour, george zimmerman painting again and making the work available for public sale. this time, it's an image of the special prosecutor who tried him for shooting and killing trayvon martin. it says "i have this much respect for the american judicial system" and shows her pinching her fingers together.

his brother tweeted out the image overnight, saying it would be up for sale today. the last painting, an american flag, sold on ebay for more than $100,000. this one a little bit more controversial, i think. 41 minutes after the hour. coming up, deadly riots filling the streets of a huge city as a key nation descends into chaos this morning. we're live right after the break. passenger: road trip buddy. let's put some music on. woman: welcome to learning spanish in the car. passenger: you've got to be kidding me. driver: this is good. woman: vamanos. driver & passenger: vamanos. woman: gracias. driver & passenger: gracias. passenger: trece horas en el carro sin parar y no traes musica. driver: mira entra y comprame unas papitas. vo: get up to 795 miles per tank in the tdi clean diesel. the volkswagen passat. recipient of the j.d. power appeal award, two years in a row. life with crohn's disease ois a daily game of "what if's". what if my abdominal pain and cramps end our night before it even starts? what if i eat the wrong thing? what if?

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welcome back, everyone. a tense standoff this morning in ukraine, where protesters and

the government, they are talking today about trying to find a way to end this conflict, which has been going on for months. this is coming the day after at least three people were killed in explosive clashes. you're looking at some of these dramatic pictures right now. diana magnay is live in kiev following the latest developments. diana, what do protesters want at this point and is there any sign that the government's willing to give an inch? >> reporter: they want the president to go, john. they want snap elections and they want that to happen fast. and i think the violence that we've seen here over the last three days is an indication of just how frustrated the demonstrators here are. the opposition leaders, and there are three of them, have been calling over and over again for this protest to remain peaceful. and up until now, it's been pretty peaceful. but after the government tried to rush through legislation last thursday, which effectively criminalizes this whole protest, makes it illegal to be part of a mass demonstration, it makes it

illegal, for example, to wear a helmet or a mask or to be in groups of more than five cars. so, you know, everybody down there knows that if the police get them, they can be criminally liable for being part of this demonstration. that was when everything gathered pace and when the violence really broke out. four people killed. the police have been using plastic bullets, firing into the crowds. they've been using tear gas, stun grenades, and the protesters aiming back with really anything that they can get their hands on, molotov cocktails, breaking up the paving stones and then setting fire to tires to make these huge smoke barricades which have done a pretty effective job of dividing them between, forming a sort of demarcation line between them and the police. >> it really seems like the tension has reached a treacherous level. diana magnay in kiev, thanks very much for being with us this morning. breaking overnight, 46-year-old edgar tamayo, a mexican national, has been put to death in the state of texas.

tamayo was convicted of murdering a houston police officer back in 1994. this execution went forward despite pleas and a great deal of diplomatic pressure from mexico's government and the u.s. state department. the supreme court rejected a last-ditch appeal to stay the execution. new developments this morning in the investigation into new jersey governor chris christie. nbc news is reporting fbi agents have become to question dawn zimmer and some of her key aides. she alleges members of the christie administration pressured her to support a development project in exchange for hurricane sandy relief money. the u.s. attorney's office has now told zimmer to stop giving interviews about those claims as they investigate. christie's office denies strongly denies those allegations. this morning we're finding out more about just what spilled into a west virginia river, leaving hundreds of thousands unable to use their water for days. the company responsible for the spill now says it involved two chemicals, not just one.

the second chemical, which made up just a small part of the 7,500-gallon leak is apparently less toxic than the first. still, residents and officials are outraged that they weren't told sooner about the second chemical. a firefight continuing this morning in mississippi at a biodiesel plant rocked by an explosion not far from tupelo. this fire burning so hot, the firefighters can't get close enough to it to put it out. several homes nearby have been evacuated. amazingly, no one has been hurt, and officials say the chemical tanks at that facility are secure. this is a biodiesel plant that converts chicken fat to alternative fuel. >> dramatic pictures. >> yeah. let's take a look at what's coming up on "new day" this morning. >> chris cuomo with us this morning. good morning, chris. >> good morning, my friends. we have not one, but two big exclusives for us this morning. our reporter sat down with iran's new president and the foreign minister. they're raising eyebrows over the comments that the u.s. broke a deal with iran to dismantle its nuclear program. they claim the u.s. has

mischaracterized the deal, but are they not going as far as everyone believed? that's the main question. you judge for yourself from the answers. plus, we have a couple hot debates today. you heard about the animal planet show, it's big. the guy goes on, the "call of the wild" man, he rescues animals. well, what are they doing to those animals before they get rescued or to make it seem like they're being rescued? there's a big investigation that takes heavy shots at the show. the producers of the show say it ain't right, and they're coming on to defend themselves. that will be one heck of a debate this morning. we're also going to take on, john and christine, this continuing story about this woman in texas, had oxygen deprivation. she is now on life support. is she alive, is she dead? there is a texas law that says even if she is dead, if she is pregnant, the baby, they must do everything they can to protect the baby. there is now new information about the baby. will that change the debate that's going on? it's a legal battle. really interesting. for people who care about this issue, it's a debate to listen

to. >> and for a lot of people, it's a moral battle. some people, it's a pure gut instinct when they hear this story. just sad from start to finish. and it isn't finished, quite frankly. >> a lot going on. >> thank, chris. coming up, another stage could soon see gay marriage within its borders. a politician changing course, and it could sway a court. the story when we come back. farmer: hello, i'm an idaho potato farmer. and our giant idaho potato truck is still missing. so my dog and i we're going to go find it. it's out there somewhere spreading the good word about idaho potatoes and raising money for meals on wheels. but we'd really like our truck back, so if you see it, let us know, would you? thanks. what?

all right, big developments today on the legal fight over same-sex marriage in virginia. the "washington post" says that mark herring will announce that he believes the state's ban on same-sex weddings is unconstitutional and will ask a court to strike it down. mark herring is the new attorney general of the state of virginia. that's significant. this is a major change in position for herring and for the attorney general's office itself. now, when he was in the state legislature, he voted against same-sex marriage, and his predecessor as attorney had long said he would defend the law, the ban on same-sex marriage. so, this is a big turn-around for virginia and a big movement that will start today. all right, president obama has given a newly created administration task force 90 days to come up with a plan for fighting sexual assault on college campuses. it was a stunning white house report that says one in five female college students are raped, one in five, but just one in eight victims report it. >> that's staggering, those

figures. new developments this morning that could affect how you vote. a bipartisan presidential commission is out with its recommendations to cut down on lines and make it easier to cast a ballot, suggesting that voters should be able to register online, saying it saves money and does not seem to have any fraud issues. 24 states currently allow that practice. the commission also recommended expansion of early voting. all right, coming up, foreclosures still a problem in the housing market, but now there are new numbers that show maybe things are turning around. and i'm going to tell you why cash is still king in real estate. that story in "money time," next. [ fishing rod casting line, marching band playing ]

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top of the hour, welcome back to "early start." it's "money time." bargain hunters scooped up more foreclosed homes last year, and many of them paid all cash. sales of foreclosed and distressed homes made up more than 16% of all home sales last year, and that's up from the year before. listen to this, all cash deals in all of real estate accounted for nearly 30% of all home

purchases last year, and that is up dramatically. you've got these super low mortgage rates, but look at how much, 29.1% of these are all cash deals. the surge in sales and distressed properties comes despite the fact that far fewer americans lost their homes to foreclosure last year. a lot of people, i think maybe, john, they're downsizing. i think maybe people, baby boomers in particular, are moving out of a bigger house, paying all cash for a smaller house, and there are still investors, foreign investors, buying homes for cash all over the country. big target story this morning. it's battling, of course, one of the biggest customer data breaches ever. it's battling a shopping season that was disappointing. yesterday, it said it would need to cut 475 jobs as it continues to focus on "transforming our business." the announcements didn't end there. target is also telling part-time workers to go get obama care. the retailer says it will no longer offer health insurance to part-time target employees, and that makes up about 10% of its total workforce. the launch of obamacare leaving some employers to re-evaluate

their coverage plans and who they're offering coverage to. home depot and trader joe's announced last year they would cut part-time coverage and sent them to the obamacare exchanges instead. >> target says they're going to give 500 bucks to each employee who loses health care coverage. >> and we've seen that in other companies. they give you a pot of money and say we're not going to be responsible for this anymore. go into the national marketpl e marketplace. all right, 59 minutes after the hour. that is all for us this morning. that is all for us this morning. "new day" starts right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com john kerry has no right to try to change the lots of the supreme court and turn the keys over to the international community. >> breaking overpiegt, executed, texas puts a mechanics san citizen to death. they say it may put merps

overseas at risk. so why the rush to kill? cnn exclusive. our reporter sitting oun with iran's new president. what they say about the deal to dismantle anywhere nuclear program. epic freeze, brace yourself america. much of the country in for a week's long streak. feels like 40 below in some areas. >> your "new day" starts right now. >> good morning. welcome to "new day." it's thursday, january 23rd, 6:00 in the east. breaking overnight, texas executed a mexican national. edgar tamayo is the man's name. he