now. coach, doesn't seem to be the defense we've grown accustomed to seeing. where does the fixes come? >> maybe alabama doesn't come back in the second half. >> for notre dame coach brian kelly, alabama did come back for the second half. they won big. good morning, i'm mark halpern. this is "way too early." thanks for getting up with us on this tuesday, january 8th. we've got a lot to cover this morning including president obama rolling out his picks for secretary of defense and cia director. we'll show you what he said about his nominees and what the skeptics are saying from both sides of the aisle. before we get to the news live here at 5. 306789 in new york city, alabama cemented the status as a bona

fide college football dynasty after thrashing an overmatched notre dame team. 42-14. the crimson tide cruised to the third national title in just four years. they become the first team in the bcs era to win back to back titles as well. alabama's big win assures the rest of the country we won't stop hearing those taunting sec chants as this conference has now won an amazing seven straight national titles. we'll have the full highlights of the performance in just a moment. but first, turning to the news and your federal government, president obama's choices for secretary term national security team are taking shape. securing confirmation for them is going to be a bit more complicated. former republican senator chuck hagel, a decorated soldier and veteran from nebraska has been tapped as the next secretary of defense. president obama yesterday emphasized hagel's government service and his personal connections to the organization. he's now been nominated to run. >> chuck represents the

bipartisan position we need more of in washington. for his independence and commitment to consensus, he's earned the respect of military leaders, republicans and democrats including me. in the senate, i came to admire his courage and judgment, his willingness to speak his mind, even if it wasn't popular. even if it defied the conventional wisdom. that's exactly the spirit i want on my national security team. a recognition that when it come to the defense of our country, we're not democrats or republicans. we are americans. maybe most importantly, chuck knows that war is not an abstraction. he understands that sending young americans to fight and bleed in the dirt and mud, that's something we only do when it's absolutely necessary. my frame of reference, he said, is geared towards the guy at the bottom who's doing the fighting

and the dying. >> after yesterday's announcement, the fight over hagel's nomination are still working. there have not been my nengs about the courtesy calls or start date for confirmation hearings. the battle lines are being drawn. one of hagel's former colleagues says ee he has extreme concerns about the nomination. >> i know chuck hagel. he's an honorable man. he has a record of distinguished service. but he's profoundly ro lly wron number of the most important social security issues that face our country today like denying iran nuclear weapons, like direct face-to-face negotiations with state department designated terrorist organizations like hamas and calling into question our commitment to our principal ally in the middle east, israel. >> one of the really key figures in this nomination, john mccain of arizona, an old friend of chuck hagel released a statement saying, "i have serious concerns about positions senator hagel

has taken on a range of critical national security issues in recent years." there also appear to be reservations on the democratic side as well. members of that party are stopping short in some cases of offering hagel a full throated endorsement. some democrats have already backed them. senator chuck schumer of new york released a statement of his own reading in part, "chuck hagel has earned the right to nothing less than a full and fair process in the senate. i look forward to fully studying his report and exploring his views." at the white house yesterday, hagel didn't address the controversy shoundiurrounding h nomination. >> mr. president, i'm grateful for this opportunity to serve our country again. and especially its men and women in uniform and their families. these are people who give so much to this nation every day with such dignity and selflessness. i'll always do my best. i doll my best for our country for those i represent at the

pentagon and for all our citizens. and, mr. president, i'll always give you my honest and most informed counsel. so with the main controversy swirling around hagel and his record on issues like iran and israel, he chose unusually to defend himself in an interview with his hometown newspaper the lincoln star journal. he told the paper "the distortions about my record have been astounding." he added, "there's not one shred of evidence that i'm anti-israel." >> john brennan spent 25 years in the cia before he became the president's chief counter-terrorism adviser working inside the white house. the president considered brennan for the same job after he first got elected in 2008. brennan withdrew his name from consideration after he got associated with the enhanced interrogation techniques that had been used during the bush

administration. charges brennan denied. over the past several years, brennan has been instrumental in expanding the administration's use of drone strikes fwens terror targets around the world. in fact, just hours after the nomination was announced, a u.s. drone reportedly killed eight more militants in pakistan. yesterday in the announcement at the white house, president obama praised brennan's high standards as an intelligence leader. >> he has worked to imbed our efforts in a strong legal framework. he understands we're a nation of laws. and in moments of debate and decision, he asks the tough questions and he insisted on high and rigorous standards. time and again he has spoken to the american people about our counter-terrorism policies because he recognizes we have a responsibility to be open and transparent as possible. all right. so in the midst of that white house ceremony that was solid and tough stuff about national security, there was one moment of comedy styling, the line of

the day goes to leon panetta who is leaving as defense secretary after a long career in washington. he spoke about his retirement plans. >> the time has come for me to return to my wife sylvia, our three sons, their families, our six grandchildren and my walnut farm. dealing with a different set of nuts. >> all right. so the nomination fight over chuck hague that will we're expecting, washington is also dealing with financial matters. the nation may dodge the fiscal cliff last week with a deal but were there any winners when that deal came together? a new poll from pugh says a majority of americans, 57%, believe the president got more out of what he wanted than those negotiations, just 20% said republicans did better. 38% approve of the final package that came out of those negotiations. as for the way politics works in washington, another poll, this one from usa today and gallup

says 77% of americans believe the latest beltway doings are causing serious harm to the country. with the nation in the middle of a debate over gun control, today bells will ring in tucson, arizona, marking the two year anniversary of the mass shooting. today giffords and mark kelly are launching a new initiative to encourage stricter gun control laws. this comes as we learn new details about that separate mass shooting at a movie theater in aurora, colorado. preliminary hearings are underway for the accused gunman 25-year-old james holmes. it was revealed that the suspect bought the movie ticket 12 days before the midnight screening of "the dark knight rises." that suggests the attack may have been planned well in advance. yesterday despite emotional testimony from some of the first responders on the scene, witnesses inside the holmes sat

the courtroom. coming up, we're joined by michael bloomberg. he'll discuss the battle coming up in congress over gun control. turning to economic news now, ten of the country's biggest banks have agreed to a huge payout, $8.5 billion in settlements they improperly foreclosed on homeowners who should have never been pushed out of their houses. some are saying the compensation is come took little, too late. lisa myers reports. >> reporter: it's billed as the largest cash payout from banks from abuses during the foreclosure cross-ices. critics say not nearly enough to compensate for the actual damage. in homes and lives. under the agreement between ten banks and federal legislators, 3.8 billion homeowners involved in any state of the foreclosure process in 2009 and 2010 would

receive payments ranging from roughly $250 to $125,000. depending on the era and level of harm. and what do the banks get? one less investigation. for the banks, this ends, this very lengthy process where federal regulators were looking at every foreclosure the banks did and trying to air that dirty laundry in public. tim nan is eligible for a payment from his bank. he and his family were foredloesed on in 2010 after he lost his job. >> i won't accept it. it's blood money. and i think people wanting their homes back, they don't want, you know, a few pennies thrown at them like they're trash. >> reporter: federal regulators argue this set ament speeds payments and helps borrowers who don't have to prove they were actually harmed. still, many consumer groups are critical saying it enables banks to sweep abuses under the rug. what one called a get out of jail free card. >> what tells you the most is the homeowners who have been

victimized will not get significant compensation. >> if the $3.3 billion in cash in the settlement were divided equally, the average payment would be $868.42. the spokesman for the bank says this settlement compensates any remaining consumers that may have been harmed and hopefully will lift clouds over the banks so they can lend more and help the housing market recover. >> that was lisa myers reporting. for more on all this we go to cnbc's jeff cutmore in london. pretty expensive day for bank of america. they reached an $11 billion agreement with fannie mae over troubled loans. >> yeah, absolutely. they get their own special little footnote here when it comes to housing misery in the united states. $11.6 billion is the size of the payment. and that's for fannie mae to rectify the losses that fannie

mae took on toxic loans that they were sold by bank of america. so it has turned out to be a very costly day for bank of america with both this fannie mae settlement and the one that you talked about previously which settles some of the foredlfor foreclosure issues. we're looking for earnings out of alcoa. that's the first of the dow companies that will give us a sense of what this fourth quarter earnings season will look like. the market looking for the best numbers in three years from this business. hopefully they'll look a lot better than we saw from yumm brands which owns kfc and operates in china. they said they seen same store sales down 6%. apparently general cho trumps colonel sanders when it comes to the chicken wars. >> thanks, yum down is a very short headline. that fits anywhere. geoff cutmore, thank you. a bit of sad news. richard ben cramer died of complications from lung cancer.

he is best known as the author of "what it takes," his account of the 1988 presidential campaign. it's considered by many people to be one of the best books ever written by u.s. politics. cramer also won the pullser prize for his reporting from the middle east back when he was a correspondent for the philadelphia enchoirer in 1979. he also is a prolific magazine writer for "sports illustrated," rolling stone and esquire. if you never read "what it takes" i couldn't recommend it more to you. shoot us an e-mail and let us know why you're awake. can you tweet me and we'll read the best responses later in the show. still ahead here on "way too early," alabama rolls its way another national title. but last night's win over notre dame was not without just a few hiccups including a really weird freakout by the alabama quarterback. his team was up four touchdowns. we'll show you the highlights. also there, hillary clinton back at work at the state department after spending a month away due

to health concerns. she gets a very pleasant surprise welcome back from her staff. we'll show you that. and we'll get a check on the weather when "way too early" comes right back. >> reporter: a gunman walked up, opened fire on gabrielle giffords and the crowd. six people were killed, among them, a 9-year-old girl and a federal district judge. at least 13 others were injured. so you say men are superior drivers?

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so we go from no tree to bill karins for a check of the weather fabled nbc meteorologist. >> time to keep that tree down. >> i would have kept it up through the weekend. >> are you one of the people that keep the christmas lights on well past -- >> i keep them up through the state of the union. >> the inauguration? >> state of the union. >> yeah. what date is that, by the way? >> i have no idea. >> i don't either. >> later. coming up. >> yes. at least once a year. good morning, everyone. as far as the weather, it's been unbelievably warm out there so far this week. it's going to continue through the weekend. we have rain to deal with in texas. this will be the worst of it. showers and storms victoria to houston. we have a slight risk of severe storms, maybe a few tornadoes. that is the only weather concern out there. otherwise, it is going to be absolutely gorgeous once again. pretty much from the rockies all the way to the east coast. the warm air just dominates the weather map. we're melting the snow in a hurry. even this morning it's above freezing. kansas city, atlanta, it's a

little chilly, minneapolis, chicago. but with a good deal of sunshine this afternoon, especially the eastern seaboard. look at this in d.c. today. 53 degrees and sunny in the second week of january. even up to boston we'll be at 44 degrees. even looking as far out as the upcoming weekend for that patriots play-off game. it's going to be in the 40s, maybe 50s. incredible weather continues. i mean this is just as good as it gets. i'm sure when we do the inauguration it will be freezing cold in d.c. but at least this week it's gorgeous. >> t-shirts and shorts. >> that's what barnicle does. he sports it. bill, thank you very much. >> but he shaves his legs, too. >> we all do. main stay of our lives. thank you, bill. all right. alabama now a bigger dynasty. they have than blake and crystal carrington. they're the most dominant wins ever in the national championship. they dismantle notre dame. we'll give await ending, 42-146789 it wasn't even really that close. here's how it got started. the teams in the tunnel before the game sizing each other up.

that is the laugh time notre dame had any sense of equity and quality against the rivals. first drive of the game, a.j. mccarron goes up the middle. cuts once or twice in the end zone. easy. that would set the tone for the day. notre dame giving up the touchdown. alabama never really looked back. they scored on their first three possessions of the game. dominating. alabama's already up 21-0. mccarron shows short to lacy, spins in for yet another touchdown. alabama goes into the locker room up 28-0. third quarter now, they're still up 28. mccarron takes his time in the pocket, finds a wind open cooper. another touchdown. alabama's up. tiptoes in. intrigue in the fourth quarter. mccarron can't get the snap from the center. the all american jones and the two of them go at a little shoving. sort of strange to be that intense after building up a huge lead like that.

one explanation possible, the coach had his team the night before watch "zero dark 30." maybe that added intensity to mccarron's attitude. clock winding down, saban gets the traditional gatorade bath. third national tight until four years for alabama. saban gets the fourth win, national championship of his career. afterwards, he talked about how he was looking forward to a big restful off-season after another big win. >> i'm proud of what they were able to accomplish this year. but two days from now, we have to start on next year. we have a 24-hour rule around here. we enjoy -- >> seriously? >> that's right. >> fear the tide. they're not resting. saban now only one of four coaches in big time college football history to win at least four national championships. amazing. hats off to the tide. i bet joe is going to be happy. top of the hour on "morning joe," members of congress are

promising tough confirmation hearings for the new nominees to head the pentagon and cia on "morning joe." the crew will kick that around and talk about what's in store for chuck hagel and john brennan. when we come back here, we're going to huddle around the water cooler. pbs smashes records with the help of one of tv's most talked about shows. we're going to show you a clip from that when "way too early" comes right back. when you're a quarterback in alabama, you see that love lly lady there? that is miss alabama. that is a.j. mccarron's girlfriend. what a beautiful woman, wow! >> a.j. is doing some things right. >> if you're a youngster in alabama, start getting the football out and throw aren't backyard. mine was earned in djibouti, africa, 2004.

the battle of bataan, 1942. [ all ] fort benning, georgia, in 1999. [ male announcer ] usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto-insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve.

all right. so much for real news. come, gather around the water cooler. hillary clinton is marking her return to the state department. she came back yesterday, back on the job after a month off recovering from both a concussion and a blood clot that doctors discovered in her head. her staffers welcomed her back in style. a big standing o. and then even some gag gifts. the deputy secretary of state gave her, you see there,

regulation helmet, football helmet stamped with the state department seal because, of course, life in washington is in fact a contact sport. and to make the uniform complete, a jersey with the words clinton and the number 112, that's, of course, the number of countries that secretary of state clinton visited. a world indoor and out door record. a big night for pbs on sunday. the british period drama, personal favorite of mine "down to abby" set a new record during the season three premier in london. we're going to take a look at the show. for those worried about a spoiler this is not the scene where baits is kidnapped by martia martians. >> it always seemed to strange to me that cora has a brother. >> why? you know how things work here, mother. if there's a boy, the daughters don't get anything. >> there is a such thing as an english heiress with a brother? why don't we ever see him? >> harold hates to leave america. >> glorious. he hates to leave america.

i should hate to go there. >> you don't mean that, granny. when we're both so drawn to america. >> indeed. indeed, we are. never more than now. when the bond between the families is so strong. >> that's nice. if you mean it, ma. >> i do. >> oh, period drama, how i love you. a record 7.9 million viewers tuned in to watch the family drama unfold. that is a record high for pbs. it is nearly double the number of viewers who tuned in for the series to premier last january. still ahead on "way too early," why are you possibly awake? your texts, tweets, e-mails and more are next and "morning joe" a few moments away. ♪ [ male announcer ] how do you turn an entrepreneur's dream... ♪

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