good wednesday morning. coming up on "early today," taking action. president barack obama vows to bypass legislation to expand opportunity for more americans. southern chill. americans in the south and midwest blasted by frigid temperatures forcing teaches and students to spend the night in thei skills. a new york congressman threatens to throw a reporter from a balcony because of questions. miami dolphin jonathan martin speaks out about being bullied. super bowl spending to top $12 billion. actor vin diesel gets down. it's january 29. "early today" starts now.

good morning to you. i'm richard lui. president barack obama trying to get back on track. last night's state of the union focused on sluggish economy, inequality and hedge occasion. he hits the road today to promote the agenda. the headline is he is willing to go alone if he needs to here. >> he's going to expand on that headline today headed to maryland to talk minimum wage, some he can do on his own, some he needs help from congress. he is going to talk about retirement savings bonds, one of the ideas the president says he's going to get started today. >> america will not stand still, and neither will i. >> president barack obama says he'll act alone to ease the economy, ease the regulation, bring jobs back from overseas, raise employment benefits and

raise minimum to $10.10 an hour for federal workers. he urged congress to do the same for the rest of the county. >> give america a raise. >> he needs congress to simplify the tax code and insure equal pay for women. >> that is wrong. in 2014, it's an embarrassment. women deserve equal pay for equal work. >> the president challenged republicans to stop fighting health care. >> tell america what you do differently. let's see if the numbers add up. >> republicans promised more jobs, less red tape and less government. >> we hope the president will join us in year of real action empowering people not making their lives harder with you think precedented spending, higher taxes and fewer jobs. >> that was the official republican response. there were others as well.

from the tea party, mike lee of utah said the reason there's inequality out there, he called it the government's problem. >> tracey thank you for. that. we'll take you to the rare winter paralyzing parts of the south. carolinas, georgia, alabama, mississippi under a state of emergency. this morning nearly a thousand flights are cancelled nationwide. more than half involvie ining atlanta. the weather forced a thousand kids in alabama and georgia to spend the night at school. there they had access to blankets. >> some of the schools had not released students early enough in the day for them to be able to get home in their normal fashion before the roads became icy and the school buses could not run. >> just a few inches of snow

fell in atlanta but commuters came to a stand still. it took more than five hours just to get home in some cases. the gridlock was so bad a baby girl was delivered there. the officials described the birth as flawless. the south is not used to this weather. in alabama two were killed in a weather related accident with as much as a foot of snow expected in parts of the region. many southern officials are asking people to stay off the roads. >> we're not used to this significant ice and sleet and snow that we're experiencing today. >> we're-ly recommending that people stay off of the roadways. >> now is not the time to take unnecessary risks or any unnecessary trips. >> now nbc meteorologist bill karins will join pus with the full forecast and what's happening in the south. there were lighter moments

in the state of the union address. this was not one of them. new york congressman michael grim interviewed after the speech. the reporter michael scott asked him about the investigation into his campaign finances. his answer might be the only republican response anyone remembers. >> this is only about the president. thank you. >> what about --? thank you. >> congressman michael grim does not want to talk about the allegations concerning his campaign finances. we wanted to get him on camera, but he refused to talk about that. back to you. [ inaudible ]

>> grim says he doubts he's the first member of congress to tell a reporter off and is sure he will not be the last. he released a statement saying in part quote, the reporter knew i was in a hurry and only there to comment on the state of the union. he took a cheap shot in the interview. end quote. mohamed morsi appears locked in a sound proof locked cage. take a look. >> the toppled leader shouted at the judge who was able to have his microphone. the 62-year-old is on trial in connection with prison breaks during the 18 day uprising against his predecessor in 2011. morsi faces other trials on various charges including inciting the murders of protestors. he could face the death penalty

in all. we're talking about the snow on the ground. it could feel like a foot. >> the kids got locked in school, buses couldn't run. hundreds of students and teachers spent the night in the school. parents are not happy. you can imagine how upset people are. the changes final lly arrived. i love showing the map with precipitation on it. building up snow north of spoe can. in the days ahead, some will shift to the south. we're watching a nice, active jet stream, the white plume of clouds coming to oregon. that's going to shift south. we're going to get snow and rain in northern california. storm coming on shore is the beginning of things to come. how much rainfall in the next 48 hours? not a lot. we try to get some around san

francisco. it will be in the central and northern portions of sierras, one to three inches liquid equivalent. that's more going to be on thursday than today. today's forecast, still warm and dry. sacramento southwards. tomorrow we'll finally get rain and snowfall warm conditions especially southern california. so looks like we have this shot of rain, maybe another over the weekend. no big drenching storm. doesn't look like la will have rain until february. >> those areas are key. >> that's the water supply. >> thanks so much bill karins. the scandal involving the

america launch officers doubles. mexico expands individual ranties. canadians try to have justin bieber deported. and george clooney's biggest acting regret. a hint, it involved a costume he wore once. w fast acting advil. with an ultra-thin coating and fast absorbing advil ion core™ technology, it stops pain before it gets worse. nothing works faster. new fast acting advil. look for it in the white box. of fast is good and faster is better. good thing walgreens gets you in and out in no time. so you get the relief you need with new fast acting advil. at the corner of happy and healthy.

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with new hershey's spreads, the possibilities are delicious. -hit the beach in florida. -and a reunion in seattle. we can afford to take more trips this year. [man] when hotels have unsold rooms, they use hotwire to fill them. [woman] so we got our 4-star hotels... for half price. ♪ h-o-t-w-i-r-e ♪ hotwire.com and welcome back. the number of nuclear missile launch officers under investigation for allegedly cheating has nearly doubled. 34 were originally investigated for cheating on examples or not reporting the cheating ring. it's a sign of the times. mexico changed the stance on vigilantes. they'll use them in the fight against armed drug cartels. 20,000 men will be part of the government's rural defense core. oregon county emergency

dispatch unit is fed up with non emergency 911 calls. they started a social media campaign called, you called 911 for that. it will expose the most useless calls. a man called because his debit card was not working. this image shows pope francis flying in a pose remember nans ent of super man. they're look on what to call it. i think super pope. good morning brennan. >> if you're trying to get into your hotel room, there's an app for that. a new system unlocks your door by waving the smart phone over

the receiver. it is already used in homes. a labor department says unemployment fell in 39 states in washington d.c. last month. another sign of broad based improvement in the economy. 17 states had a rate below the national rate. meanwhile the senate could vote today with a bill to delay premium hikes up to four years. >> thanks so much. super bowl spending estimated to top $12 billion this year as we shell out for grub, gear, televisions and more. that's according to the national retail federation. they're warning of deals that seem too good to be true. they probably are. remember the commercial claude van dam doing the splits? it's the most watched automobile commercial ever on youtube. they say the investment has been valued at $170 million.

this covers part of the wind fall no doubt. sports just ahead for you. dolphins' jonathan martin opening statements up about the alleged bullying. ahead of sunday's big game, super bowl media day. it includes talks of strippers too. i need proof of insurance. that's my geico digital insurance id card - gots all my pertinents on it and such. works for me. turn to the camera. ah, actually i think my eyes might ha... next! digital insurance id cards. just a tap away on the geico app. could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. everybody knows that. well, did you know that when a tree falls in the forest and no one's around, it does make a sound? ohhh...ugh. geico. little help here.

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this morning on today, just over a week until sochi, coming

off a big win, snow border danny davis talking about getting ready for his winter olympics. good luck my friend. in an interview exclusive, jonathan martin talks about the alleged bullying. here he is on football night in america. >> i work hard to be friends with richie and others. i think it's important to build friendships with teammates. that was my driving force. i turned back on myself, what am i doing to be treated like this? what makes me different? i'm not different from any other player. >> the owner says he doesn't think either player will return and then recanted that. students didn't show up for the game, neither did number 11 kentucky against unranked louisiana state evidently. johnny bryant 28 points, season

high. iowa and michigan state. iowa misses, into overtime. they escape with the win. super bowl media day. peyton manning and russell wilson among those there. sherman was asked about strippers and justin bieber. someone asked if sunday is a must win game? it is. so is mandatory immediate you day. marshawn lynch showed up only six minutes of the hour long endeavor. he faced a fine for not meeting regular media season obligations. lynch was thinking about his skittles deal. there will be a limited edition package of seattle mix with green and blue colors. these seahawks fans are called the 12th man often. now a seattle couple has named

their new daughter cindy lee 12th man. her last name is man. kanye's cash settlement over a fight, bieber's arraignment. plus fast and furious vin diesel getting down and sharing it with the world. is this a good idea? violets are blue. splenda® is sweet. and so are you. [ female announcer ] just about anywhere you use sugar, you can use splenda® no calorie sweetener. ♪ splenda® lets you experience the joy of sugar without all the calories. it's a very good reason to enjoy something sweet with the ones you love. think sugar, say splenda™

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. well there's a little bit of interest in the super bowl on the pacific northwest. it's an outdoor game. will be easily the coldest ever played out doors. 43 game time was the previous coldest. we'll bet that at 35 degrees. considering how cold and brutal the january has been in the new york city area, this is a very nice forecast at 35 degrees. the seattle defense probably hopeed it would be colder or snowier. it will be dry. showers on the front in the south earlier in the day. as long as that progresses off the coast, looks -- it looks all right. >> could be a low scoring game. cold for some. >> we'll see how it goes. justin bieber is out. some call for deportation of the pop star. some describe him as dangerous,

reckless and destructive. it was 100 signatures away from warranting a response from the white house. bieber has a sweet valentine on his schedule. he's on the court docket for his dui arraignment on february 14, valentine's day. super bowl five days away if he is festivities kicked off featuring the frey and daughtry. vin diesel decided to post himself dancing to beyonce and katie perry. it has 740,000 facebook likes. that's a couple more than yours when you were doing yours? >> what's facebook? >> that sounds like you. m otley crew announcing one final crew before they retire. the material girl joining miley at her unplugged concert

tonight. george clooney revealed his most embarrassing role was batman. he said, quote, i wasn't thrilled with the nipples on the bat suit. >> no one noticed it. he brought it up and everyone is going to be staring. zblft we have to say the words a couple of times. he said yours was the first. batman was constantly cold i guess. >> it was the first suit. they wanted to be anatomically correct or not. and tmz reporting the man that got beaten up by kanye west score aid settlement of $750,000. i'm richard lui. we're hoping this is your first stop of the day on nbc. can i talk? [ male announcer ] even ragu users a.

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leading the news in the washington poechlts mccain calls gop sen which you are motivation to run again. concerned over republican extremism, he says the party vote to censure him might make him more likely to run in 2016. in the guardian, man fights off shark, stitches own leg and goes to the pub. he was spear fishing when he felt the bite. he stabbed the shark until it let go, used a first aid kit to stitch himself up and went out for a well deserved beer. probably needed to be numbed. don't you think bill? the hearing to become the next ambassador of china, he

says he wants a more economic relationship with china. it's a response on a question to china's air defense zone that's making headlines. >> i am no real expert on china, but it's my strong belief that chinese people are just as proud as we americans are proud. >> an aid tells the hill the senator was just being humble. u.s. customs grounds the fleet of drones after a crash at sea 20 miles south of san diego. the predator b was intentionally brought down. the drone and system is worth more than $12 million. watch out super bowl. there's another big game sunday. it's players are much cuter. puppy bull x is what we're talking about. may be the most highly anticipated sporting event of the season. it's not clear how scores are

kept. i don't guess it matters. it has spawned the puppy league. bill karins who's known to join any fantasy league out there, is this one of those? >> i'll research it. >> all 66 of those brutes come from shelters and are expected to be adopted after the match. another reason you should do it bill karins. time for a look ahead and look back. super bowl boulevard opens today. the 13 block area on broadway and new york city includes the 60 foot toboggan for fans to have friends. president barack obama named iran, iraq and north korea as threats s ts t s ts t s tss >> arming to threaten the peace of the world by seeking weapons of mass destruction. these regimes pose a grave and growing danger. >> and i'm richard lui along

with bill

new this morning, san francisco police shoot and kill a dog, another is on the loose. following a vicious overnight attack, the latest on the victims' conditions coming up in a live report. >> it will be an emotional day, as the bay area comes together to honor a b.a.r.t. officer killed in the line of duty. impromptu slumber party. the dangerous conditions in the south forcing hundreds of studented to hunker down inside their schools overnight. a live look outside at the bay bridge toll plaza. there is water on the ground. it's a rain, the a mist. we'll check in with weather and track, wednesday, january 29th. this is "today in the bay."