here good thursday morning, coming up on "early today," blizzard conditions, get redy for mother nature's welcome to 2014, it includes 103 million americans under winter weather warnings or advisories. frightening fire, an apartment building blaze and explosion sends a dozen people to the hospital while firefighters battle the flames and frigid temperatures. pot a-plenty, legal marijuana sales in colorado draw huge crowds. plus new year's day football bowl games set some records. and what's the deal with this 11-year-old stuck in a washing machine? it's thursday, january 2nd, "early today" starts right now.

the new year is beginning with a bang with more than 40 mile yn people directly in the blast of a brutal winter weather conditions. this morning, more than 1,000 flights are canceled nationwide, according to flight aware. wednesday alone, more than 630 flights canceled at chicago's o'hare airport, a key transfer point in coast-to-coast flights. winter storm advisories and warnings are in effect for more than a dozen states. bitter cold and up to 18 inches of snow expected in some parts, boston has declared a snow emergency and public schools will be closed tomorrow. snow preps are underway in connecticut, new york and beyond. many spent new year's day buying ice melts, shovels and snow blowers. new york governor andrew cuomo said roads could be closed before tonight's commute. blizzard warnings are in effect on long island. the same storm system dropped at least a half foot of snow in chicago and other midwestern

cities. nbc's bill kairns joins us with more. with 72 people on board that stranded ship, all people have been rescued. a helicopter arrived on a self-made pad, passengers were choppered off the boat with, 22 crew remaining on the ship, stuck in the ice for over a week. there's a new challenge to the affordable care act. and it has washington talking right now. the supreme court threw in a last-minute 2013 wrench blocking a contraceptive coverage requirement. nbc's tracie potts is in washington. the white house has until tomorrow to respond to the supreme court, any word yet? >> what the white house has said is that the rule changes address not fully what the supreme court has said is that it's siding

with religious groups that don't want to cover birth control as part of the new health law. this morning, this family is among two million americans happy to now have health insurance they can afford. >> this means a lot to people like us, being self-employed. >> but on capitol hill, opponents say that's only half the story. >> six million people had plans they liked, are being thrown off of it, i don't think it's anything to celebrate. >> there are snafus, some without i.d. cards, the obama administration set up a toll-free number to help. >> if someone is in the system, if they've gone in the paperwork and for some reason the insurer doesn't have it, if they call that number, we'll be able to identify them. >> there's still computer glitches. >> this cannot succeed without some adjustments. >> another hitch, just hours before the new year's deadline, the u.s. supreme court said religious groups don't have to

cover birth control. the obama administration says its rules already address that. and that's because the rules affect churches, houses of worship, religious groups, but not necessarily the organizations that are tied to them like charities and hospitals and universities and some of those cases, some of those challenges are working up through the court system. >> that's right, just one of the challenges we'll see this year perhaps in the supreme court with the affordable care act. thank you so much, tracie potts. a major push for clemency for nsa leaker, edward snowden. "the new york times" editorial board saying enormous value lies in the information snowden has revealed and the abuses he has exposed. they write quote mr. snowden deserves better than a life of permanent exile, fear and flight. he may have committed a crime to do so, but he has done his country a great service. it is time for the united states to offer mr. snowden a plea bargain or some form of clemency that would allow him to return home. the "times" goes on to say

snowden should have the hope to lead a life of advocating for greater privacy and intelligence oversight. snowden has temporary asylum in russia, he's charged with espionage and felony theft of government property involving close to two million government documents, u.s. officials have urged him to return and face those charges. 14 people were rushed to the hospital wednesday an after apartment building in downtown minneapolis caught fire after an explosion. minneapolis firefighters did the best they could to control the fire. they had to fall back because the building became unsafe and battled the blaze from the outside. wind chill temperatures hit near minus 20 degrees. some residents on upper floors had to jump from windows. six in critical condition. "fresh prince of bel air star" james avery has died. he was best known as the uncle to will smith's uncle on the sitcom. here's avery from the show. >> so officer, don't tell us to

wait and don't tell us to sit down. just open that damn cell and let those boys up or i'm going to tie this place up in so much children that your grandchildren will need lawyers. the actor who played avery's son carlton on the show tweeted that i'm deeply saddened to say that james avery has passed away. he was a second father to me, i will miss him greatly. turning to the weather and the winter storm, nbc meteorologist bill karins for us. >> a lot of people will be struggling. it will be so cold in the areas that get the snow. anyone in the west, who has friends in chicago, st. louis, kansas city, down to dallas and to the northeast, that's the area that will be affected. almost all of the eastern half of the country is affected by the winter storm, either by snow, rain or just by the frigid cold temperatures behind it you can see this morning, snow extends from just outside of st.

louis in the white through indianapolis, up into the great lakes and through new england. and that will head towards the bigger cities in the northeast as we go through this evening. how much snow? it's not the snow so much as the combination of snow and the cold and the wind that will be the factor that makes this a memorable storm, especially in eastern new england, bost con get over a foot. it will be so cold, it will be light and powdery. lesser totals in pittsburgh and new york, chicago, most of it has fallen. so a lot of flights that will be canceled during the day will be in areas of the ohio valley and tonight and tomorrow in the northeast. up in the pacific northwest, we've got kind of a very warm, for this time of year, a lot of moisture, pretty warm system that's coming onshore. snow levels above 6,000 feet, northern portions of the cascades. a very warm system and temperatures in the 40s in seattle. light rain will continue to push through the state of washington during the day today. so the forecast, we continue to be dry and warm.

that's kind of the weather pattern this winter. as long as the ridge holds on, it gives us the warmth and dry weather over the west, all the cold air from canada will spill into the middle of the country. the dryness in the west is your punishment with the drought, but it continues to punish the midd northward up to washington state near the puget sound. we're all connected. >> in more ways than we want sometimes. now it's the tough weather in the east. colorado pot sales exceed even the loftiest of expectation. plus knowing what you know if you could. would you vote to re-elect toronto mayor, rob ford? details in two. you're watching early today.

welcome back. it was a late christmas present for pot smokers in colorado wednesday. the first stores to sell marijuana for recreational use opened their doors at 8:00 a.m. >> thousands of people lined up to buy the green stuff, it turned out so big some of the stores closed early. the terry schiavo life and battle network is in the battle of the life of jahi mcmath continues with the life network getting involve td. the organization saying they have been helping the family. as they try to transfer the girl to another hospital. doctors say there's no chance the teenager will come back to sharon. the former prime minister of israel took a turn for the worst on wednesday with a spokeman saying his health has deteriorated. he's been in a coma since 2006 after suffering a stroke while in office. the rose parade played host to a same-sex marriage on wednesday. the first ever to occur during

the event. it took place aboard the aids health care foundation float. the 2014 mayoral race will have its first candidate, that guy, current mayor, rob ford. you may remember mayor ford as the man who ran on the platform of saving taxpayers' money and admitted to smoking crack. and does dancing, too. fiat plans to take full control of chrysler with a $4.35 billion deal to buy the rest of the car company. the auto maker will purchase the 42% stake owned by a united auto workers' trust. the personal information of snapshot users has been hacked and leaked. the grup claiming responsibility saying they were try ing trying to raise awareness of the security holes in the app. motorola cuts moteo x to $350 without a contract a few bucks cheaper than galaxy s 4.

and iphone 5s. wal-mart offering 30 days of prescriptions at no up front costs to obama care enrollees stuck in a back log. and the first winter storm of 2014 will snarl shoppers trying to take advantage of the new year's sales. hundreds of delays and cancellations at airports could add up to a mess for those returning from the holidays with all of those gifts in hand. just ahead the winter classic rocks the big house and football heaven for fans from coast to coast. that's next.

this morning on "today" olympic gold medal stater brian boitano. in his first interview since being named to the u.s. olympic delegation and announcing that he's gay. now to sports, new year's day, that means some serious college football. that's what we've got for you. we start with the 100th rose bowl. michigan state versus stanford. michigan state down by a few. the qb under pressure throws an ugly pick six and later redeems himself with seconds left in the first half, still down by three. in the fourth, state gets another clutch touchdown to win the rose bowl 24-20. a great way to celebrate in the 70-plus weather, gatorade dunked the coach.

to the gator bowl, unranked nebraska takes on 22, georgia, the play of the game, nebraska connecting from its own end zone, the 99-yard play ties an ncaa record and is the longest ever in a bowl game, nebraska with the upset there, 24-19. iowa and lsu in an awful premature celebration after what should be a turning point, but the pick six. he tosses the ball before he crosses the goal line. what are you doing, my friend. lsu slow to start, but wins it 21-14. if you don't know who blake boardles is. you will, in the fiesta bowl, the quarterback led central florida to 550 offensive yards, he's a florida native nobody wanted, including his own team. but is now looking at the nfl. number 15, central florida shocks number six baylor, 52-42, the second-highest scoring bowl game of all time.

some announcements to make, louisville quarterback teddy bridgewater will be a top pick with his 31 touchdowns this season and from south carolina junior defensive end clowney will be going to the nfl draft. the nine-year:00 bears head coach lovie smith is back after taking 2013 off, he was hired to lead the tampa bay buccaneers. they don't call michigan stadium the big house for nothing. 109,000 fans, detroit and toronto tied at regulation, the snow and wind chill temperatures there below zero, toronto wins in a shoot-out 3-2. stadium still full. it's cold out there. this is a new year's tradition in rome, italy. daredevils dive over 50 feet into the tiber river. speedos? i don't know. just ahead, bill karins with the

cold temperatures that might be headed your way. plus "big bang"'s kaley cuoco says i do.

welcome back to the big weather story across the country, of course the big snowstorm heading for the northeast this evening. and the west we're still watching a weak system coming in through the northwest. the green on the map shows you the rain. the pink, a little bit of a wintry mix. we haven't been seeing a lot of

that or snow, either. so not exactly what the ski resorts wanted to see. snow levels are up there like 6,000, almost 7,000 feet. very strange for this time of year. a very warm system coming onshore. much of the steady rain stops at least temporarily in seattle. you'll get more rain showers as the day goes on. so portland, some of it will sneak south your way. you've been dry to this point. medford you should stay dry and all of california and southern cal looking good and tomorrow, not much of a change. >> you know even though the snow levels are a bit higher, for those double and triple diamond skiers, they're like it doesn't bother me at all. >> the ones jumping off the top of the mountain? >> they'll be at 10,000 feet. in entertainment, kaley cuoco ended the year with a big bang. she marriageried tennis star ryan sweetie on new year's eve. one of the first things kim kardashian did in 2014, see that thing? >> why?

>> she put the 15-carat engagement ring that she's got into her daughter north's hand. i wonder if north sprained a muscle there. after being accused of plagiarism, shia labeouf attempted to apologize with this sky-writing. superstar beyonce dancing to some of her favorite tunes which also happen to be her own tunes. it works out kind of well. she has a new album, why not. some of the most stolen music in 2013 comes from artists including super bowl half time singer bruno mars, he's very popular on twitter. we got rihanna, daft punk, your favorite justin timberlake and flo rida. the most pirated movies of

2013 include "the hobbit," jango unchained and silver linings playbook." check out this intense sneak peek of "spider-man 2" legendary actress angela lansbury was made a dame for her amazing body of work. including the hit show "murder she wrote." britney spears believes that the show must go on. her costume came undone during the show and she kept on dancing, the show must go on. >> the back-up dancer did his thing. did a little maintenance on the back of that it could have been worse. i'm richard lui and this is "early today."

leading the news on nbc news.com. catholic priest found slain in california church rectory. police are investigating the death of father eric fried whose body was found at st. bernard catholic church as a murder. and in the "new york times," consumers start use ing coverage under health care law. doctors and hospitals bracing for influx in patients. thanks to obamacare sign-ups. some stories you might have missed, more than 40 million people are in the path of a brutal winter blast. winter storm advisories and warnings are in effect for more than a dozen states, bitter cold and up to 18 inches of snow expected in some parts. stuck in a washing machine? a game of hide and seek turned a little scary. for an 11-year-old utah girl. butter, ice, peanut butter

didn't work so the family called 911. firefighters brought a bunch of power tools, but were able to remove the dryer above her. the girl was distressed and bruised but otherwise just fine. >> kind of funny at the end of the day like what are you doing playing in the washing machine. >> not funny for her? >> no. afterwards, we laughed about it. she's been laughing about it but at the time, it was scary. >> maybe the dryer should have forced it? for many across the country, it would not be new year's day without a polar bear plunge. in new york city droves of people came out for a quick splash in the frigid atlantic ocean. that may not compare to what folks in chicago were doing. the ice was so thick that the young polar bears had to take turns plunging into a small

opening in lake michigan. you're committed if you have to jump through a small hole in the ice. >> and bikinis. time for a look back and a look ahead. we see the new modifications for the u.s. ship currently docked in virginia using special new equipment to destroy syria's chemical weapons. on this day in 1960 the first step towards the white house for john f. kennedy. >> i am today announcing my candidacy for the presidency of the united states, the presidency is the most powerful office in the free world to which leadership can come a more vital life for all of our people. >> happy birthday to supermodel christy turlington, oscar-winning actor kubba gooding, junior. and jack hannah is 67. keep it here for more news, weather and sports. i'm richard lui. have a very good day ahead.

good morning. it's 4:30. i'm scott mcgrew. >> i'm peggy bunker. laura garcia-cannon has the morning off. breaking news in san jose this morning, where police are investigating the city's first homicide of the year. >> a man shot and killed early this morning on east san antonio street, that's just north of the highway 101 and interstate 680 interchange. >> bob redell is live at the scene this morning. what can you tell us? >> reporter: good morning to you. this is not far from where east san antonio crosses over 101. this was around 1:30 this morning, a person driving by here on the 1600 block called 911 to say that person saw a man lying near a