lysol. what it takes to protect. let's make a deal. with garbage piling up around the nation's parks, will the president's meeting with congressional leaders clean up this government shutdown? meantime, u.s. border agents reportedly fired tear gas at migrants as they tried to cross the border from tijuana to san diego. a day after an explosion leveled an apartment building killing nine, rescuers miraculously find a baby still alive in the rubble. it was a battle of the sexes as roger federer squared off with serena williams in a heated doubles match. and with $425 million on the line, it's going to be a very happy new year for one mega millions jackpot winner. el'll t "early today" starts right now.

good morning. i'm marlie hall. >> great being with you. i'm frances rivera. in washington, d.c., tensions flare along the mexico border. u.s. agents fired tear gas at t tuesday. u.s. customs and border protection say they launched the gas to stop dozens trying to cross into the u.s. authorities say some in the group were violent and throwing rocks. the gas affected migrants and journalists but no reports of any serious injuries. back on capitol hill, congress will reconvene with still no real end in sight to the government shutdown. nbc's tracie potts joins us from d.c. with the latest. tracie, president trump has a message for lawmakers, tweeting, quote, let's make a deal. >> reporter: deal to be had. this is a complete showdown over the border wall,wants, the $5 b democrats now coming in to take over give to president

trump. he's having some of the top leaders, democrats and republicans, to the white house today to talk about that border wall. the white house calls it a briefing. democrats, according to one aide, are skeptical that the president's ready to negotiate over this. and democrats do plan a vote tomorrow. they have two different plans. neither of them would fund the wall. both of them would reopen the government for these 800,000 workers who are either working without pay or not working at all. we're also hearing from mitt romney, who is criticizing the president and wondering whether or not this is something that they might be willing to work out. in a new op-ed, he raises that question. but again, as he slams president trump saying that his conduct over the past two years is evidence that he's not risen to the mantle of the office. romney soon to be one of those trying to make this decision on how to reopen the government. frances? >> tracie potts for us.

thanks. the government showdown is delivering another blow to the tourism industry on capitol hill today. after remaining open between christmas and new year's despite the shutdown, the national zoo as well as the smithsonian are now closed indefinitely. the national gallery of art is also expected to close tomorrow. and with many park rangers on furlough, some of america's greatest natural wonders are overflowing with trash. nbc's morgan chesky has more. >> reporter: at joshua tree national park, the desert views rand abbott fell in love with now compete with a nasty reality. >> cigar wrappers, tin foil. i mean i could stay here for about three hours and clean this thing up. >> reporter: with park staff on furlough, rand, a disabled vet, volunteers up to six hours a day pulling ranger duty, trying to save a place that saved him. >> then i came out here and started climbing, and it opened my mind up to everything i can do in life. >> reporter: his best efforts no match for visitors now packing parks nationwide during the

government shutdown. in the capital, washington monument views now come with this. and in texas, trash keeps bear proof cans from even closing. >>e optimistic that we'll get notice that we can come back to work soon, but until then, yeah. >> reporter: in utah, only zion national park will stay open as the state pulls back funding. now governors are promising state money. new york's andrew cuomo tweeting he'll keep these parks open for the statue of liberty and ellis island. arizona's doug ducey adding the grand canyon will not close, pledging $64,000 a week to keep it open. at joshua tree, campgrounds are closed. officials blaming vandalism and health>> hazar thanks appreciate it. happy new year's. >> reporter: the national park service is stressing park access could change without any notice, leaving visitors on their own. >> morgan chesky, thanks for that report. cold war tensions heating back up this morning between the

united states and russia. that's after a marine corps veteran was arrested last week in moscow on spying charges. paul whelan was in moscow for a fellow marine's wedding, and he was last seen giving a tour of the kremlin. now the 48-year-old's twin brother is speaking out, insisting he is innocent and demanding his safe return. >> paul is your tourist who happens to be in apparently the wrong place at the wrong time. it's inconceivable that he took the actions that the russians have alleged. >> according to russia's state-run news agency, if found guilty, whelan could face up to 20 years in prison. now to the terrifying moments for a family at a zoo in florida. a 2-year-old girl falling into a rhino enclosure there and airlifted to the hospital. nbc's catie beck has the latest. orter: a family new year's day trip to a florida zoo turned terrifyingn toppled into a rhin exhibit. a witness posting this picture >> she's conscious at this time.

>> reporter: the zoo in melbourne says during the hands on educational experience with rhinos, children 3 years of age and older are led by a zookeeper and able to touch the 4,000 pound animals separated by a series of steel poles. >> while the father was kneeling down, the child stumbled backwards, fell between the bars. the father and mother immediately reacted and brought the child out, but at least one if not two of the rhinos made contact with their snout. >> reporter: the toddler airlifted to an area hospital. the mother also treated for a non-critical injury to her arm. the incident similar to a 2016 accident at the cincinnati zoo when a 3-year-old boy fell into a gorilla enclosure and was tossed about by one of the animals who was later killed. the rhino exhibit remains closed pending investigation. the zoo says until they've thoroughly reviewed our processes and procedures to ensure this cannot happen again. catie beck, nbc news. now to a miracle overseas.

more than a day after an explosion leveled an apartment building and killed at least nine people in russia, rescuers pulled a baby alive from the rubble. here's nbc's lucy kafanov with the details. >> reporter: the moment even amazed rescuers. an 11-month-old baby boy pulled out of the rubble alive after surviving for more than 36 hours in freezing temperatures. a glimmer of hope for authorities desperately searching for survivors. this video capturing the moment a deadly gas explosion ripped through the ten-story russian apartment building monday. dozens of people still feared trapped. but rescuers heard that baby's cries. i saw parts of the cribs, his first responder says. we cut the linoleum, and i saw a face. the baby, named ivan, had frostbite, a head injury, and fractures. but he was swaddled in a blanket and warm bedding, which helped him survive frigid temperatures of minus 4 degrees. his mother was able to escape

when the building came down. my elder son and i fell through, she said, and he was left alone in his cot. ivan has been airlifted to moscow for treatment. doctors say ivan is in serious condition. his father calling him a new year's miracle. >> just extraordinary. lucy, thanks. near boston, an elderly female driver was killed and her passenger left critically injured after her car slammed into an apartment complex and sparked a fire early tuesday. officials say the vehicle struck a laundry room on the first level and then ruptured a gas line, setting off the fire that spread to the entire complex. multiple firefighters were hospitalized trying to extinguish the blaze. an estimated 45 residents were displaced. police determined the now deceased driver was speeding before she plowed into the building. tyler trent, the former purdue university student who inspirols across the nation has died from a rare bone cancer on tuesday. tyler moved fans with his courage, positive spirit, and

his commitment to funding cancer research. he raised over $100,000 in his last months. trent was the recipient of the disney spirit award at the college football hall of fame. trent served as an honorary captain for purdue when they played the auburn tigers in the music bowl. the purdue cancer center tweeted twenty's legacy will live on in the future. albuquerque got walloped by winter weather and more is potentially on the way this morning. residents were left to zedeal wh low temperatures, wind, and snow accumulations. but it was fun and games in many places. you can see families making the most of the snow day off. road conditions were hazardous for some commuters. state police shut down several roads as a precaution. let's check in with bill karins. good morning. >> the kids do love it. for the second morning in a row, it's snowing in tucson, arizona. we're going to watch this storm. look at the pink on the map showing up in central texas. pink is never g weather that me

sleet or freezing rain. for that reason, we have winter weather advisories in central texas, in all, including arizona and areas of new mexico, 14 million people under winter weather headlines. the snowfall totals, the highest over the next two days will be west of forth worth, wichita falls to abilene, texas. two to four inches. but it's this coating of ice, only about a tenth of an inch or so, but enough for the sidewalks, bridges to be very slippery from oklahoma to wichita falls to abilene all the way down to san angelo. that's the travel trouble spot in the country. the rest of the nation, the east ceast looks pretty ni today. it's pretty muchm fwo westward that you'll have those issues. still another cold day in the northern plains.

with this same storm, a flo hea. we'll talk about that coming up. in moscow, more than a dozen people were injured after a pedestrian bridge collapsed during new year's celebrations. video posted on social media shows the exact moment the wooden bridge collapsed, sending dozens of people tumbling some ten feet onto a skating rink below. victims were treated for what russian officials are calling moderate wounds. >> so scary to see that video. still ahead, one lucky person is kicking off the new year nearly half a billion dollars richer. plus further than ever into the final frontier. how nasa is making history in deep space. studies show that omega-3s are great for your health. but did you know that 98% of us don't get enough of them? that's why megared advanced 4in1 packs more omega-3 power your brain... your eyes...

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is not a bouncy castle. it's just really nice toilet paper. one... we freely share why our treatmentsde? and scientific discoveries worldwide. and reason two? you're looking at her. visit stjude.org or shop wherever you see the st. jude logo. that's an aggressive yellow. pretty great, huh? if you're a banana. i find it very... appealing. kellogg's raisin bran with bananas. two scoops meet real banana slices. i've done a good job of raisin ya. okay. so we have a winner. the mega millions new year's draw l 2019 with a $425 million prize. the eighth largest jackpot in history. we now know that the winning ticket comes from long island, new york. so check those numbers. they were 34, 44, 57, 62, 70,

and mega ball 14. i'm from long island. that could have been me. >> are you sure it's not you? >> i'm positive it's not me. >> she's here today. it wasn't her. all right. it was a party at nasa last night after successful completion of the farthest flyby ever by nasa's spacecraft new horizons at 4 billion miles away. while this may be the start of a new space race set to kick into high gear this nbc's tom costel >> reporter: jubilation at nasa as the new horizons spacecraft zipped past and took photos of a curious space object called ultima thule. it looks something like a 20 mile long bowling pin. >> we have a healthy spacecraft. we've just accomplished the most distant flyby. >> reporter: one of the researchers, queen guitarist brian may, himself an astrophysicist. 2019 could be a marquee year for space exploration, a chinese rover is expected to land on the

dark side of the moon. a first for human discovery.vi chinese manned mission. meanwhile, after eight years of flying aboard russian rockets, this could be the year american astronauts board an american spacex rocket for a trip to the space station. elon musk has plans for the moon and beyond. >> isn't she beautiful? she's just been to space, which is ridiculous. >> reporter: richard branson says this is the year space tourists will ride his virgin galactic rocket to the edge of space. >> well, i think 2019 could mark the renaissance of space activity. renaissance is the right word. rebirth because 50 years ago we were flying to the moon. >> reporter: there's plenty of interest. the u.s., china, india, russia, even the uae have plans for loon a -- lunar or mars missions. tom costello, nbc news. washington. >> i love when branson said it's

ridiculous because it's hard to wrap your brain around that. >> i love there's an iconic rock group connection too. up next, back into the upside down. when stranger things will finally return to netflix. and history on the court. the highlights as serena williams and roger federer face off for the first time ever. you're watching "early today."

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get your fireworks ready. netflix has announced the premiere day of the eaglerly awaited third season of its hit stranger things will be july 4th, 2019. the eight episode series will be set in the summer of 1985 back in hawkins, indiana. a lot of people waiting for that one, but six months to go. >> a little bit of a tease right there. it might be one of the most anticipated tennis matches of all time. serena williams and federer square off in a doubles match seen around the world. who won in the new >> reporter: it was dubbed the first face-off between tennis great serena williams and roger federer. >> it was a great experience. i'm kind of sad it's over, you know. i was just warming up. >> it's true. >> reporter: while technically a mixed doubles match, all eyes

were on williams and federer, arguably the best ever to play the game. >> it was a bit nerve-racking to be honest because all of a sudden, you're serving, and i'm like i got to win this interest po, but it's serena williams. >> reporter: overpowering each other with crushing serves. these champions share a competitive edge, mutual respect, and deep admiration. >> hopefully i can get some tips later on, on how to hit a little better, but it was really >> reporter: both 37 years old, federer has won 20 grand slam titles, williams 23. he has 99 career titles. she has 72. >> i don't think you give us credit. >> reporter: being compared to the famed 1973 battle of the sexes match between billie jean king and bobby rigs, the world was watching roger and serena. while team switzerland won, serena took home her own trophy. >> you wanted to have a selfie.

>> reporter: two champions and a picture of perfect sportsmanship. miguel almaguer, nbc news. >> wow, so cool. i know it's all about those two, but i kind of felt bad for the other two players there on the court. like nobody knows who they are, i'm sure they're just happy to be there. just ahead, bill is tracking an icy winter blast and the top teams in college football go bowling. but it's the mat coscots that s the show. ♪ before i get on the move ♪ i grab my special food ♪ today's the daisy i see ♪ the difference in me ♪ today's the daisy for cottage cheese (cottage cheese) ♪ ♪ today's the daisy for cottage cheese (cottage cheese) ♪ ♪ today's the daisy! they should ...not hurting inside. thanks to you, st. jude children's research hospital

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welcome back. we have a flash flood watch that includes the houston area right through central louisiana. this area has gotten drenched in the last couple months. a lot of rivers are already into flood stage and we're going to get an additional two to four inches with the storm. here's the timing. already some ice this morning. during the day today, all this yellow is areas of heavy rain from central to southeast texas to east texas in louisiana, southern half of arkansas. that's round one. that goes away this evening. then we get round twohese areas. plenty of issues. >> bill, thank you very much. still ahd, movement. we'll introduce you to the queen bees shining on the national stage. my digestive system used e me feel sluggish. but those days are over. now, iak it naturally traps and removes the waste that weighs me down, so i feel lighter. try metamucil and begin to feel what lighter feels like. take the metamucil two week challenge and lighten up. just take metamucil every day for two weeks. are you ready for the challenge?

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within one step at a time. nbc's kristen welker has more. >> reporter: asia banks has always been a dancer. >> i've been dancing since i was like 4. >> reporter: but being overweight, she faced criticism, even from her dance teacher. >> for my own coach to tell me, oh, you have to be a size 10, that shot my confidence down all the way. >> reporter: now she's built that confidence back up with the help of the honeybees, the dance team for the renowned alabama state university marching band, exclusively for plus-size dancers. ♪ the group is a crowd pleaser, appearing on steve harvey, america's got talent. >> good luck. >> reporter: and making their debut in the rose parade. >> the university's dance line, the honeybees. >> reporter: but junior john a. deans favorite audience, the young girls they talk to not just about weight, but confidence. >> i don't have a problem with anything on my body.

[ cheers and applause ] >> if you feel like you're going to look good in it, wear it because i will wear anything if i feel good in it. i'm just saying. and i want other girls to feel the same way. we all do. >> you have to accept who you are, be confident. >> i feel like i can just be successful and become a honeybee. >> reporter: an inspiration for audiences of all sizes. >> that was kristen welker reporting. wow, confidence game way high. >> i know. i know. they have such great personalities. love them. now to the rivalries on the field. to the sugar bowl where the mascots set the tone. the longhorn named bevo knocked down a barricade, charging georgia's mascot, a bulldog. texas opened the scoring as sam ehlinger took it up the middle for the touchdown. georgia finally struck back in the second. down by 17, quarterback jake fromm connects for the touchdown to cut the lead to ten.

but texas never trailed, dominating georgia and taking the sugar bowl 28-21. next to the rose bowl, and urban meyer's last game as head coach of ohio state as the buckeyes take on the washington huskies. ohio state would strike early and often, running away with a 28-3 lead. but then washington waged a late comeback but would fall short with the final 28-23, ohio state. undefeated central florida put their 25-game winning streak on the line against powerhouse lsu. tigers quarterback joe burrow struck gold, passing for 394 yards and four touchdowns to lead lsu to a 40-32 victory. thanks for watching "early today." i'm marlie hall. >> i'm frances rivera. your news continues right here.

ad lib live picture- emeryville welcome to wednesday morning, january 2nd. another chilly start across the bay area.

ay bridge this ear for a liv morning. you need that cloud cover to keep us warm. good morning to you. thanks so much for joining us. i'm laura garcia. >> and i'm scott mcgrew. marcus washington has the day off. vianey is here for kari hall, and mike inouye is back. >> you'll be a lot busier in the traffic department, mike, hopefully it's just the regular commute. we have clear skies like laura said. no:can, which means yes, it is cold. 36 degrees right now in san jose, and san jose isn't the only spot that's in the 30s.