good tuesday morning. coming up on "early today," deep freeze. the most dangerous arctic blast of cold air in decades descends on the midwest, plains, northeast and south. mass school closings, travel snarled at dozens of airports and one region getting six feet of snow. bcs glory. a championship for the ages that went down to the closing seconds. florstate steals auburn's dream. al qaeda surge. militants connected to the terror group in iraq are taking hold of regions where americans lost their lives. plus, almost 1,000 newly married couples put into legal limbo at utah. an accident that could have been worse. and taking a moment to enjoy one of nature's wonders. it's tuesday, january 7th. "early today" starts right now.

thanks for joining us everyone. i'm betty nguyen. the polar vortex is right here, right now and it's sending temperatures plummeting to the lowest levels in decades. here in new york, readings fell 55 degrees in just a matter of hours. and it is similar across the country. it's all life threatening, record breaking and travel tangling. for many, the worst is just beginning. brave tracie potts is live in washington. how does it feel where you are, tracie? >> reporter: it feels cold. but feels cold pretty much everywhere around the country. we woke up to single digit temperatures with windchills at 5, 10, 15 below. that's nothing compared to what they're seeing in the midwest. it's actually warmer in minneapolis this morning.

minnesota has some of the coldest temperatures in the nation today. the midwest frost comes on top of record snow that closed indiana's major interstate. several counties there are in a state of emergency. in milwaukee, power crews are out, in it, trying to keep the lights on. >> just got to do your job. that's what we're here for. >> reporter: the arctic hurricane known as a polar vortex dipped into the deep south, causing power outages in dallas -- >> back on! 12 1/2 hours. >> reporter: -- and snow in georgia. >> i've been out here sweeping and just kind of cleaning some of this off of my car. >> pretty funny to see people down here all bundled up. >> reporter: shelters opened in atlanta. >> there is just no way you can really survive living out there in a tent with this kind of cold weather. >> even if you had a chair with a blanket, at least you're out of the elements and you're warm. >> reporter: almost 2,000 cancellations already today. levi torres has been stuck in

denver's airport for three days. >> just stay up all night, 24/7 and just wait and hope that i get out of here. and hasn't happened yet. >> reporter: jetblue's hoping to get back in the air today after shutting down completely in new york and boston. all over the u.s. it feels like mother nature left the refrigerator door open. but actually, schoolchildren are pretty excited about that because they may have another day off school. in the midwest, yesterday, parts of 13 states closed their school doors because of the frigid temperatures, betty. we might see that happen again. not here in d.c., though. d.c. schools are open and so is the federal government. >> really? all right. it is back to school. no snow day for you, no cold day for you. thank you. now to nbc biologist bill karins. bill, everyone wants to know, looking at that -- please, soon. >> it will. warm air in the west will eventually head to the east as we go throughout this week. not today. record lows are being shattered. the areas in blue is the current

temperature and the record lows already set. the red is where the record is. so in atlanta, we're at 6, you beat your old record by 4 degrees. raleigh, new record low this morning. new york city, new record low. that broke the one going back to the late 1800s. pittsburgh, new record low. we tied our record low in chicago and in kansas city. and the windchills right now, i mean, we're minus 24, minus 30, you get the picture, minus 11. the size of this arctic outbreak, it is so impressive, new orleans with a windchill of 13. atlanta, minus 9. it is really everyone east of the rockies. >> a lot of people suffering today. okay, bill, thank you. the florida state seminoles are not because they are celebrating their first national championship since 1999. . >> a dramatic second half comeback by the noles.

>> and with that the acc ends the run of seven consecutive sec championships beating number two auburn but it wasn't easy. the auburn tigers dominated the first half leading 21-3 and then the heisman winner showed life running over 20 yards with two minutes left setting up their first touchdown of the game. in the fourth, a seminoles game changing rally, whitfield with a 100 yard kick off return for a touchdown and florida is in the lead 27-24. now under 1:30 left. auburn will not give up. tre mason gets a clutch 37 yard rushing touchdown. then 31-27 and seconds remaining, winston connects for the win. the seminoles take it 34-31. here's winston. >> we came out here and we were letting us be bigger than the game. we were bigger than the game and then we said let's play football. because can't nobody be bigger than this game and we did that. >> that was a good game. down to the last second. congratulations, guys. now to a phone call from vice president joe biden to iraq's prime minister amid an up

tick of violence. biden is lending his support to iraq's fight against the local al qaeda branch there. he said he's concerned about those suffering at the hands of terrorists. biden also spoke with iraq's parliament speaker. they discussed ways to maintain cooperation between sunni communities and the shiite led government. at the white house, the press secretary said the u.s. maintains a strong commitment to iraq. he said the u.s. can assist by delivering more missiles and surveillance drones this year. but he said the fight against terror is something iraqis need to take the lead on. some members of congress are questioning whether iraq would be better off today if the u.s. did not pull out two years ago. >> if members were suggesting there should be american troops fighting and dying in fallujah today, they should say so. the president doesn't believe that. back here at home, nearly 1,000 newlyweds are in legal limbo after a ruling by the supreme court.

late monday justices stopped same-sex marriages in utah. they agreed to put the unions on hold. while state officials appeal an earlier ruling by a federal judge. but the high court's decision does not answer a central question, will marriages performed during the previous 17-day ruling remain legal? the state attorney general says officials have not decided whether to take actions against those couples. meanwhile, in arizona four gay couples are suing in hopes of making same-sex marriage a reality there. the class action lawsuit claims the state's voter approved ban on the unions violates the u.s. constitution. check this out, a gas station employee is nearly killed after an elderly driver loses control behind the wheel. a surveillance camera captured the attendant's brush with death monday morning as he waits to service the next car. an 83-year-old man slammed his car into him and a gas pump. a small fire erupts from the crash, but it is quickly put out.

thankfully the driver and employee suffered injuries, but are expected to survive. >> let's bring in bill karins now. that is incredible. a lot of people looking outside their window and saying the same thing about the cold weather. >> if you have friends or family that live anywhere in the east, call them up, ask them when the last time they saw something like this has been, it has been a long time. in the northwest, a different story. it won't have much cold air around for any snow. warm weather system is moving on shore. we have pretty much socked in with light rain, especially all of the higher elevations. and that forecast is going to continue. this looks like a dreary start to the new year in seattle as we head towards the middle of the month. chance of rain continuing each and every day. higher elevations, even significant rain over the next couple of days. that does not affect areas of southern california, who remain one of the warmest spots in the nati

>> the pacific northwest going to be one of the wettest spots in the country over the next week. >> a lot of us in the east will take that over the cold weather. absolutely. any day. thank you. plans for a satanic temple in oklahoma's capital are causing quite a controversy. we'll show you it. a former teacher mary kay letourneau is back in jail. and dormant for 400 years, this volcano suddenly has come back to life. we have details in two. you're watching "early today."

this story will have you talking. a satanic group unveiled the 7 foot tall statue of satan they want placed in front of the oklahoma state capital right next to a monument of the ten commandments. the statue features a goat-headed demon seated in a

throne flanked by two children. the satanic temple argues their statue should be allowed since the capital has a ten commandments monument out front. the crowd-funded statue doubles as a chair, where, quote, people of all ages may sit on the lap of satan. all righty then. former teacher mary kay letourneau who was in prison for having sex with her 12-year-old student was briefly back in jail on monday after failing to appear in court for a suspended driver's license. a volcano in indonesia dormant for 400 years has been spewing ash and destroying homes since sunday. over 20,000 people have had to evacuate due to the fast-moving hot ash. and check her out, the little panda here had a chance to meet the press monday at the national zoo ahead of the public debut on january 18th. the cub was born in august, and is only the second surviving cub born at the national zoo. well, this year's consumer electronics show, the future is now, with smart cars, connected

homes, i-controlled gadgets and technology that you can actually wear? well, the future looks pretty bright. nbc's jay gray has the plum assignment at the las vegas convention center. that's a glimpse into the future right there on that table? >> absolutely, betty. these are the crystal balls looking into what is going to be hot and neat. some really cool gadgets, stuff that you can't even find on the shelves right now. and things that we'll be talking about for the next several years. a lot of what's new and neat this year centered on your smartphone, tablet or pad. >> mobile is becoming the heart of technology. >> reporter: with a beat that is stronger than ever when heard through the latest dockable speakers and high performance head phones and earbuds. your devices can control light panels, toy robot, or even your own drone with a state of the art hd camera on board. >> you can see what's up there, you can see basically your world from a different perspective. >> reporter: different is what

ces is all about. soon you'll be able to text your appliances and they'll write back. >> you'll text back and forth with your fridge or your washer. they say, for example, you might tell it, you're going away on vacation for a couple of weeks. the appliance will respond back saying, maybe i should go into low energy mode for that time. >> reporter: this oven and range are the first ever with an integrated tablet. it will download recipes, cook them to perfection, and even let your family know when they're ready. >> you can put your kids' phone numbers in there so they'll receive a text message when dinner is done. >> reporter: going out for dinner? soon you won't have to leave your phone or pad on the table. the fashionable bracelet or necklace will let you know when there is a call or e-mail or text. >> any indication or notification you get on the smartphone can be subtly hinted to you with different colors or vibrations to let you know something is happening. >> reporter: in a high tech world, where so much is happening. >> the joys of technology. thank you, jay. just ahead, johnny football

has second thoughts about going pro. and who is headed for the nfl draft? plus, the chicago bears' jimmy butler gets into the groove with a little help from taylor swift.

this morning on "today" as this winter season shapes up to be a dangerous one, jeff rossen reports on how to survive if you fall through ice.

new this morning, lawyers representing former nfl players in the $765 million settlement detailed how the money will be divided. athletes will a.l.s. could get $5 million each. $4 million goes to deaths involving brain trauma and $3 million for dementia cases. the maximum awards go to players under age 45 since they need more lifetime care. johnny football might not be ready for the pros just yet. texas a&m quarterback johnny manziel plans to talk it out with his family before a final decision is made. he lead a&m to a 52-48 victory over duke in the chick-fil-a bowl and has two years of eligibility left. but according to espn, most draft analysts say he would be a potential first round draft pick. sounds pretty tempting. manziel was hanging out with tebow at the bcs championship game. tebow was on the job, though. it was his first appearance as

an espn analyst. heading to the draft, university of central florida quarterback, blake wartle. he led ucf on a nine-game winning streak and was the force behind upsetting baylor at the fiesta bowl, 52-42. draft bound, oregon's junior running back deann think thomas where he rushed for 594 yards and 8 touchdowns this season. chicago bulls' jimmy butler is feeling 22 in his video posted by a teammate. the 24-year-old forward was caught dancing in the locker room to a hit song by taylor swift. pretty good moves. just ahead, jerry seinfeld is teaming up with larry david again. we have those details next. the british drama's premiere is breaking records. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. umbrella weather in the pacific northwest. not dealing with too much snow, just rare for this kind of year. you expect a system like this to bring significant snow to the northern mountains and the cascades. not seeing that. as far as the rain goes, we'll watch it continuing, a little break right now if you're driving in and around seattle. the rainfall forecast, kind of fills it in here, this darker green up to about an inch of rain over the next 24 hours. again, mostly at the higher elevations. but very damp and kind of dreary. >> yeah, pack the umbrella. okay, thank you. in entertainment news, "downton abbey" scored huge

ratings making it the highest rated drama in pbs history. "saturday night live" announced its first african american female cast member since 2007. sasheeria zamata will make her debut on january 18th. in an ask me anything session, jerry seinfeld revealed he is working on a top secret project with larry david saying quote, it is big, huge, gigantic. even bigger than that amazon package. >> impossible. forbes is out with their 30 under 30 list including olivia wilde, lena dunham, michael b. jordan, jennifer lawrence, miley cyrus and lorde. >> your favorite miley cyrus on there. >> of course. why not? julia roberts' niece emma is engaged to her co-star evan peters. the two have been dating since the spring of 2012. eva longoria is "maxim's" woman of the year.

>> she looks great. >> she had to reschedule her interview in order to get her present her thesis for her masters degree at cal state north ridge. beauty and brains. eurythmics will reunite for a tribute to the beatles. it airs on cbs on the 29th which is the 50th anniversary of the beatles appearance on "the ed sullivan show." neil patrick harris, always up for laughter, isn't he? >> ripped too. >> wow. got to check that out. he spent the last day of his mexican vacation giving fans a play by play of how many margaritas he drank by the number 12. hopefully didn't drink that many. he was out. folks, thank you for joining us today, here on "early today." >> margaritas on me today. >> okay. we hope you enjoy the rest of your day, your first stop in fact right here on nbc.

leading the news on msnbc.com fbi drops law enforcement from their mission statement. they said the primary function was law enforcement and now it says its primary function is national security. it's unclear why the change is made. and in the u.k.'s guardian, french workers and goodyear tire plant take bosses captive. two executives are being held at the soon to be closed plant in northern france. the captors say they want an enormous amount of money. we'll keep you posted on that. here's stories you might have missed. a federal judge strikes down chicago's ban on gun sales. the judge's ruling with the city's ordinances aimed at reducing gun violence are unconstitutional. he issued a temporary stay while the city decides whether to appeal. the u.s. marks its fourth

straight year in slowing health care costs under president obama's first term. the nation's health care tab grew at a pace of 3.7% last year. that's according to the centers for medicare and medicaid services. the bipartisan group says health care spending reached $2.8 trillion in 2012. that averages to $8,900 for every man, woman and child. how would you like to hear this on your commute to work? ♪ >> sound familiar? look at those instruments. that's katy perry's "roar" played by the royal philharmonic orchestra concert in london. the six members of the h 2 orchestra uses hundreds of glasses of water and it took them 174 hours to prepare. they sound really good. i think if i close my eyes, i wouldn't know they were using glasses. exactly. some thrill seekers in

germany know how to go to the extremes. over 90 teams participated in the 45th annual barbarian sled race using old school wooden sleds. competitors raced down a mountain at speeds in excess of 55 miles per hour. some teams gave a nod to the humble begins by sliding down the hill with bales of hay. that's one way to do it. time for a look ahead and a look back. the senate is expected to vote on a bill to extend jobless benefits for 1.3 million americans. the vote originally scheduled for monday was postponed due to weather related travel delays for returning senators. on this day in 1894, one of thomas edison's pictures and the first to be copyrighted in the u.s. filmed in new jersey. the five-second film shows an assistant taking a pinch of snuff and then sneezing. i want to say happy birthday

to dustin diamond, nicholas cage and katie couric.

we're learning new details about the priest who was beaten to death in his northern california church. how he impacted the lives of thousands of people in the bay area. >> and stranded. cold weather leaves hundreds of travelers stuck inside amtrak trains, frozen to the tracks. >> how the deep freeze in the midwest is making some people very happy. the side effect of the dangerous weather next. >> a live look outside right now. and you can see the bay bridge, you can see the still waters. we have a nice day on the way, we have everything you need to get going on this tuesday, january 7th, this is "today in the bay." good morning everyo