good morning. coming up on "early today." president obama delivers his progress report on america. >> at this moment, with the growing economy, shrinking deficits bugsaling energy booming energy production we have risen from recession freer to write our own future than any other nation on earth. >> big themes a renewed obama energy and a few things no other president in history ever dared speak of. breaking news out of paris, four men arrested charged with the terror strikes. and then news on the 11 underinflated balls with the new england patriots and a man

bulldozes a home he lived in with his wife. early today starts right now. president obama will travel to the midwest today. his first stop boise state university. there he will talk about some of the things he is talking about in the state of the union. his message was loud and clear. america is bouncing back. >> the shadow of crisis has passed and the state of the union is strong. in every step we were told our goals were misguide or too ambitious, that we would crush jobs and explode deficits. instead, we've seen the fastest economic growth in over a decade our deficits cut by two-thirds, a stock market that has doubled and health care inflation at its lowest rate in 50 years. [ applause ] >> this is good news people.

president obama made history by say being the first president to say lesbian bisexual and transgender in a state of the union speech. and he also added humor. >> i have no more campaigns to run. my only agenda -- i know because i won both of them. [ applause ] >> freshman senator joni ernst delivered the republican response and although she hit the president on obama kaerks senator ernst took a more cordial approach than previous republican lawmakers. >> even though we may not always agree, it's important that we hear different points of view. we appreciate the president sharing his. rather than respond to a speech, i'd like to talk about your priorities.

with a little cooperation from the president, we can get washington working again. >> nbc's tracie potts is in washington. what were the biggest takeaways from the president's approach. >> reporter: the president's approach was let's not be too cynical. there are things in america working a lot better than they were six years ago. more people have jobs. more people have health care and republicans would argue whether or not that's working. more people are graduating from college and he'd say there's no more recession. >> the shadow of crisis has passed. >> reporter: president obama's state of the union took on everything from climate change to cuba immigration and isis. >> we will continue to hunt down terrorists -- >> he previewed what's coming in his budget in two weeks, free community college, paid sick leave, a push to raise the minimum wage policies he says will help the middle class. >> these policies will continue

to work as long as politics don't get in the way. >> let's set our sights higher than a single oil pipeline. >> reporter: his push for higher taxes for the wealthy isn't likely to go far. republicans in charge here would rather cut spending. >> and balance the budget with meaningful reforms, not higher taxes like the president has proposed. >> i kind of think it was a rose-colored glasses speech frankly. >> i was disappointed a lot of his proposals were expensive new entitlements. >> the president presented great aspirational goals. the question is how are we going to get there? the devil is in the details. >> work with the president, let's see what we can deliver. >> reporter: a new game plan for a divided congress. starting today he's back on the road selling that game plan directly to the american public. he's going to idaho today and on to kansas two red states. >> tracie potts out of washington, d.c. thank you. although senator joni ernst

delivered the official republican response other republican lawmakers gave their own responses to the president's speech. >> our future can include a road back to prosperity back to respect at home and abroad. the path we are on now does not lead there, but there is time to change course. this president tonight and for the past six years has had the wrong diagnosis. he's had the wrong diagnosis for what ails our country. >> even if this president is not willing to work in a bipartisan way, even if this president is not willing to help solve the difficult economic problems facing this country, it's time to move on. >> former presidential candidate mitt romney and jeb bush both possible candidates for president in 2016 shared their responses on facebook. jeb bush said quote, i hope president obama will be mindful of the strong message american voters sent in november. mitt romney called the president's speech quote, disappointed, a missed opportunity to lead.

mr. obama also attacked russian president vladimir putin saying russia is isolated and the economy in tattered. the prime minister responded saying the west will not isolate russia. he called on the u.s. to return to mutual cooperation and added russia does not want a new cold war. the speech dominated social media last night. there were over 2.6 million tweets using the #sotu. it wasn't just what the president said that got reactions. many were pointing out the striking similarity between the president's energy secretary and a character used to sell quaker oats. here is another side by side, the first lady in what appears to be the same michael kohs dress worn by "the good wife" character alicia florrick. a pair of joni ernst's shoes was tweeted more than 1,000 time. john sengal whose wife took over

his position tweeted, wife is working late tonight. might work ice cream for dinner. breaking news out of paris. four men are facing terror charges. french prosecuteors say the men are suspected of providing logistical support to amedy coulibaly. doulibaly was later shot dead by police. right now it is not clear where the four suspects were involved in plotting the attacks or aware of coulibaly's plans. now to the nfl and the latest on what could be a huge scandal for a super bowl team 11 days from the big game. deflate-gate. espn says 11 of 12 footballs used in the championship blowout were underinflated. if they have less air in them balls are easier to grip throw and catch especially in the rain. the nfl requires each team provide 12 footballs for their own offenses. rules state that each ball must be inflated between 12.5 and

13.5 pounds per square inch but according to espn's report 11 balls tested were underinflated by about two pounds per square inch. remember both bill belichick and the patriots were find for the 2007 spygate spannedal for videotaping an opponent's defensive signals. the nfl told nbc news said it wouldn't comment on the espn report. the patriots indicated to nbc news they will continue to cooperate fully. this morning the race to find two japanese hostages threatened in a new isis video. a key u.s. ally could be on the brink of a queue. nbc's chief foreign xent richard engel has the poor. >> reporter: the group's beheader threatens to kill two japanese hostages unless japan pays $2 million, the same amount japan has committed to fighting

the group. japan says it won't bow to terrorist demands. it's a reminder that isis remainingsremain remains a dangerous force to be reckoned with. being attacked by the u.s. has raised isis's profile, making it easier to recruit and make money. isis is making progress in battle. a senior u.s. military official with personal knowledge of events tells nbc news the u.s.-led air war kills about 1,000 isis fighters a month, many of them in and around the city of kobani. but they are being replaced each month with 1500 new recruits. and isis is holding the territory it controls. vast stretches of syria and most of central iraq. in yemen the american-backed government is teetering on the brink of collapse this is the same government that cooperates with the u.s. military and the cia allowing drone strikes to take a stand

against al qaeda. they stormed the yemeni capital, but the president works out of his residency. there were also gunfights right at the residency. the president, however, is still clinging to power. it's unclear how much longer he can hang on. if the president were to be over thrown the u.s. drone program would be at risk frchlt a foreign policy perspective, there haven't been many big wins to talk about. richard engel, nbc news istanbul. for a look at the national weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karngs. kind of quiet around in the northeast, but that's about to change. >> yes, all because of the storm that moved through southern california yesterday with little fanfare. this storm is gaining moisture and it's going to dump heavy snow in new mexico santa fe and also will bring heavy rain to the southeast. maybe eventually by saturday be a nor'easter in new england. this is a storm here. now over arizona doesn't look very impressive.

it will be with us for the next three days. as far as the rainfall goes this morning, there hasn't been a ton of it out there. again, the storm is starting to gain some moisture. you can see the little spin crossing from california to arizona, the upper level portion of the storm. you can see a little snow probably the highest peaks around flagstaff getting snow. driving on 40 that will be a hair read drive. so far as the forecast rainfall totals go possibility of hall an inch in albuquerque. snow in the higher elevations and heavy rain around the gulf coast. much of the west is quiet. that changes thursday friday saturday. up in the northwest att, temperatures are chilly.

spokane today, the high around freezing. >> much of the west remains dry. but california does have a chance for rain coming up in three or four days. maybe things will change. >> hopefully so. bill thank you very much. now to new details on why social media might be the worst thing for your marriage. plus want to get that irs tax refund in cash? go to walmart. we'll bring you the details next. introducing preferred rewards from bank of america the new banking rewards program that rewards our customers, every day. you'll get things like rewards bonuses on credit cards.... extra interest on a savings account... preferred pricing on merrill edge online trades and more... across your banking and investing get used to getting more. that's the power of more rewarding connections that's preferred rewards from bank of america. how do you know your kids will love campbell's soup? well, it's been the number one soup in america. (slurp) (slurp) (slurp) (slurp) for four generations

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welcome back. other stories making news this morning. the u.s. supreme court unanimously ruled in favor for this arkansas prisoner who is fighting for the right to grow his beard more than a quarter inch long as allowed by prison rules. he's a muslim who wanted to grow it longer for religious reasons. the supreme court ruled that the prison violated his religious belief. facebook is once again taking the heat for divorce. a survey of legal firm case loads found it accounts for a third of divorces involving

infidelity. police arrest add new york man for renting a bulldozer and knocking down his wife. now his wife whose name is on the deed, had no idea he was about to do this. he said the foundation was crumbling. on monday he tried to get a permit to demolish the house but couldn't because the government office was closed for mlk day. that's when he took matters into his own hands. time to get down to business with cnbc's lana dowdy. good morning. >> good morning to you. toyota is king of the road for the third straight year. the japanese automaker sold the most cars worldwide, more than 10.2 million in 2014 ahead of volkswagen and general motors. microsoft will show off the new version of its operating software. windows 10 is designed to offer a more consistent experience across pcs, tablets, smart phones and the xbox. consumers have been disappointed with windows 8 which they

complain is hard to navigate. walmart is letting customers pick up their tax refunds in cash in stores. the service may appeal to people who don't have a bank account. walmart can benefit as well as consumers are inclined to spend some of that cash in stores. back to you. >> lana thank you very much. just ahead, why playing the lotto can make you gain weight. the big pro bowl change why racking up points won't be so easy. you're watching "early today." ♪ oooh baby baby...baby baby. ♪ if you're salt-n-pepa, you tell people to push it. ♪ push it real good. ♪ it's what you do. ♪ ah. push it. ♪ if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance you switch to geico. it's what you do. ♪ ah. push it. ♪ i'm pushing. i'm pushing it real good! almay celebrates the true spirit of american beauty. which rises from the heart of our great country...

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this morning on "today," a rossen reports investigation. how some tow truck companies are targeting shoppers. jeff rossen catches them in the act. in sports this morning day three of the australian open. second seed roger federer survived a first set loss but eventually won in four sets. sixth seed andy murray won 6-1, 6-3, 6-2. for the women sharapova took the final set 7-5 to advance to the third round. the nfl sex personalitying a change for sunday's pro bowl game by making the extra point attempt harder to convert. the uprights will be at the standard 818.6 -- 18.6 feet but

squeezed down to 14 feet on extra points. the kick will also be moved from the 2 yard line to the 15. the lombardi trophy arrived at the arizona science center part of a special exhibit by the pro football hall of game. let's take you back. remember this iconic movie scene from the 1976 hit "rocky." sylvester stallone made those steps famous when he used them to train. look what a group of tourists did. they were running for fun on the steps and got a treat. they spotted the rocky star, talk about good timing. the one beverage on your home that could protect you from the deadliest form of skin cancer. it could be comedy central's best roast ever.

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now for some entertainment news. started saturday sony's "the interview" will be redavailable on netflix. it's scheduled for dvd release in february. >> with my shoes, too.

>> that's hilarious. the tonight's joe jimmy fallon an kerry russell took their suits here to the limit, and a little bit -- >> beliebers, is for you, jous tin bieber will be roasted on comedy central. he tweeted, for years i've wanted comedy central to roast me. they said only if i provided them with more material. for a year now i have worked hard. >> this could be one of their most watched ever. all his fans are going to watch, obviously. but all the people that really dislike him, you're going to watch, too. >> no matter where you stand, on either side. >> i can't wait to see how original they make it. this is "early today." we hope it's your first stop of the day on nbc.

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leading the news from wect in north carolina veterans slammed with nasty note for parking in a reserved spot. air force veteran mary cane returned to her car and found a note that read quote. maybe you can't read the sign you parked in front of. this space is reserved for those who fought for america, not you, thanks wounded vet. cane says she's hurt that someone would assume just because she's a woman she couldn't be a veteran. from "time" magazine this drink could protect you from skin khanner. researchers have found that people who drink more than four cups of coffee a day on average have a 20% lower risk of developing melanoma. >> probably also a little more

hype sgler four cups? i would think so. jury selection is under way in the james holmes movie theater shooting trial. potential jurors are being given 18-page questionnaires with 77 questions concerning the death penalty and insanity. defense attorneys acknowledge holmes shot and killed 12 people and injured 70 others in the attack. holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. the u.s. government has agreed to pay a new york woman $134,000 after setting up a fake facebook page using her identity. an agent with the d.e.a. created the fake page to use in investigations. it included a picture of the woman with her son and niece. in new hampshire those who buy lottery tickets can really bring home the bacon. later this month, the state is releasing scratch and stiff i heart bacon tickets. to promote the new tickets some stores will be handing out free slices of bacon. that's pretty impressive. now, one of the most creative ways to procrastinate

i've ever seen. david nichols, a student at rice university transformed his dorm room into that the entire thing, into a ball pit. he spent $500 there and he bought -- >> that's a lot of money for college student. that's beer money. >> priorities, right. 500 balls to fill up his room. i'm assuming he doesn't have a roommate obviously. >> obviously. but he's got the top bunk. probably the most popular kid in the dorm. >> i don't know about that. beer money might make him more popular. although he shouldn't be doing that. >> of course not. first lady michelle obama is staying in washington to talk to school kids about healthy reading about. she'll be reading the book in the style of dr. suess. she'll use it to get kids excited about health and nutrition. i'm francis rivera.

it has been and still is a hard time for many. >> reaction pouring in from both sides of the aisle after president obama's sixth state of the union address. coming up why some feel energized after his speech. others, though feel left out. and a bay area freeway partially shut down for much of the morning after police investigate a shooting that left one car covered in bullet holes. plus terror in tel aviv. >> a live book outside. beautiful bay bridge illuminated this morning. halfway through your workweek. it's january 21st. this is "today in the bay."