nelson mandela and his visit to the u.s. capitol. the history has been mostly lost down the memory hole. on days like this an uncomfortable thing to remember. but it is the truth. . good wednesday morning. two children and adults survive in below freezing temperatures. black ice, the most dangerous factors facing commuters this morning. it is hard to see and nearly impossible to stop on. one step closer. google is looking into putting computer microchips into our heads. plus, mary bar plans to take over general motors. also, the hand shake that got tongues wagging across the globe. and a jackpot that would make anyone's christmas all the merrier. good morning, everyone. we begin with that harrowing story of survival in the frigid

cold. a family of six, including four children, found alive in the bottom where remarkably doctors say there is no evidence the family has frostbite. >> we obviously braced for much worse considering the cold temperatures we've had. but they're doing very well. they just expressed they're very happy and going to enjoy this christmas more so than usual. >> we have the story that some are calling a miracle. >> in the desolate mountains near lovelock, nevada, rescue teams gathered for a third day fearing they were running out of time. >> the temperatures are quite cold. it was 14 degrees below zero. >> the search for a family of six growing more desperate every hour. james glanton, his girlfriend kristina macantee and three children ages 3 to 10 have been missing since sunday. last seen in a mining town, they were headed for a day in the

snow. the terrain is rugged, remote and this time of the year. >> it is subzero temperatures. >> temperatures can kill. rescue teams held on to hope. the family had a cell phone but the area they were in was so remote there was no service. still, their last known signal helped lead search teams to a specific area. the nevada national guard launched helicopters and what some call a miracle. chris montez spotted the family's overturned jeep. >> they had a fire going and jay was heating up rocks in a fire and at night putting them in the jeep with him. >> airlifted to a local hospital, an entire community and family members heard the good news. >> i'm relieved. thank god he answered our prayers. they told me they found him and that's all i wanted to hear. >> a family of six in good condition after a sunday drive to play in the snow, a trip

they'll never forget. nbc news, los angeles. >> it is remarkable how resourceful they were just to stay alive. that winter storm could have been a whole lot worse. but it proves a few inches of snow can create miles of problems. this truck fell victim to icy roads, falling down an em bankment and into a frozen pond. it was sanding a massachusetts parking lot when crashed and went through a fence. thankfully the driver was not hurt. between two and five inches fell in boston to washington where the snow prompted the capital to close schools tuesday. most of the federal government was closed as well. except the house and supreme court. but the weather did snarl air traffic. delays up to 5 1/2 hours in new york, newark, new jersey and 5 1/2 hours in philly and 1400 flights were canceled nationwide. nbc meteorologist bill karins joins us with details of yet another storm. are you kidding me, bill?

>> this looks like a weekend one for the northeast. a saturday, saturday night and sunday morning event. for new england, it could be significant, too. we'll have more details on that coming up. i hope everyone got out there and shoveled yesterday from that slop that came down. it was pretty mild. roads were okay. a lot of roads are doing okay, the main roads. be careful on the sidewalks and driveways. the temperatures, they just went down to the 20s and teens. wind chills are very low this morning. bottom line is if you didn't shovel this morning, you're going to need the ice pick. everything is just solid like a rock. if you think it's cold in the northeast, look at the northern plains. minus 31. wind chills in fargo. the cold air continues all the way down into dallas this morning. atlanta is chilly, too. muchst k of the country. light snow. we mention that next storm that is coming. this is a broad swath. ohio valley up into the northeast. next chance of that snow friday and saturday. >> if you have a mega millions jackpot, you could buy your own tropical island. you could say good buy to snow

forever. speaking of that jackpot, it will grow to $400 million this week. there is no winner in tuesday night's drawing. so the $344 million jackpot is expected to hit $400 million by the time new numbers are picked on friday the 13th of all days. well, the date is unlucky. hopefully your numbers will be. this is the second largest mega mi millions jackpot in history. well, if you think $400 sml a lot of money, how about $1 trillion? that is what the long awaited bunt looks like to fund the government. negotiators say they have broken through the partisan gridlock to reach a compromise. but what the cost? danielle leigh joins us in washington. good morning. i have a question for you. we're looking at these numbers. all of this. aren't there some key elements in this budget that are still unresolved? >> good morning, betty. that's true. there are some elements both

sides were hoping for that they didn't get to start. democrats did not get the extension of those long term unemployment benefits they had been hoping forment republicans are not seeing the savings they hoped for either. this bill calls for just over a trillion dollars in 2014 and slight increase in the next year. it also restores $63 billion to the automatic spending cutsment and that's going to help programs like defense, education, also medical research. so to make up for that new spepding, they find savings elsewhere, for instance, by making cuts to medicare payments. and this bill is going to get its first test today. house aides say they could vote today and send it to the senate. time is tight. the senate is planning to leave town friday for the rest of the year. you'uruguay launching a gam

changer. the south american country is poised to be the first nation to create a government-run marijuana industry. in a bid to curb violence and addiction, they approved ground breaking legislation aimed at creating a marketplace for growth, sales, and consumption of the drug. the risky experiment is expected to begin operating nement year. let's get to the latest sports from richard louie. >> uruguay may get a lot of tourists there. good morning you to, betty. in the nba, chicago struggling. four of the starters are out. that means shots like this turn around jump from milwaukee get by. the bucks upset the bulls. the number 19 florida gators extending the winning streak to 21 games. they upset kansas. leading florida, crowd favorite with a career high 18 points. that's something to scream about. gators surge 67-61. who will get the famed heisman

trophy on saturday? >> always exciting. >> here we go. we have four qbs, james winston, johnny manziel, a.j. mccarron and jordan lynch of northern illinois. two running backs, they're in the running. boston college's andre wilson and then sweet 16 may not be so sweet. texas' football coach expected to resign as early as friday. >> there have been rumbling about this for many years. so it may happen. >> mack brown's 16th season was a disappointing 8-4. possible replacements here, ucla's jim moore and alabama's nick saban. who do you want? >> don't get me taking sides here. >> imagine this, super bowl xlviii with no grills, no lounge chairs, no picnic tables. that is the rule. you can eat and drink outside your car but only if it fits inside the exact boundaries of the parking space.

>> really? >> yes. >> it's the super bowl. sfwlt reason, its large security cordon reduced the space at the got. >> oh, i see. >> remember the $21,000 half court shot another an oklahoma city thunder game. >> i remember this. >> the money not so sweet. it may have endangered his amateur status. he can breathe a sigh of relief here. he can keep the cash as a scholarship. maybe next to win that cash, a high schooler sinking a 7 o foot desperation shot. seconds left. 44-43. the mayor of that town was an olympic event. so do these two british gymnasts. they use the seesaws to practice jumps and coordination. by the way, they are acrobatics. they are professionals. and danica patrick performing a full veg yas show girl outfit

the she comes with american music awards. >> i guess she got your attention this morning. >> always paying attention. >> thank you, richard. guess who "time" magazine's person of the year will be for 2013? we have the finalists. plus, a massive water spout from an out of control car. "first look" is back in three. # i'm nick, and i want to show you our holiday storefronts. what do you see here? angels? you know, something like that. reality check, not all 4g lte coverage maps look alike. i see footprints in the snow. where?!

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. nelson mandela's body is now lying in state. people file past the coffin. his funeral will be held on sunday. and oklahoma it issy, it looked like a scene right out of a cartoon. a car slammed into a fire hydrant creating this mazing geyser. no one was hurt and no word on what caused that accident. newly declassified documents show that former cia director leon panetta revealed secret information to the writer of "zero dark 30."

panetta said he assumed everyone in the audience this proper clearance. "time" magazine has released the five finalists for person of the year and they are in no particular order, nsa laker edward snowden, edith windsor, texas senator ted cruz and pope francis. the winner will be revealed this morning on "today." and how about a microchip implanted in your head? oh, yeah, it may not be just a sci-fi fantasy, folks. google's chief engineer says he envisions the brain being able to interact with pieces of technology. wow. another woman shatters a corporate glass ceilingment mary bara started at general motors as an 18-year-old intern where her father was a dye maker for 40 years. today she is the new face of gm and first woman to lead major car company. >> i've worked at general motors

for 33 years. i've always known it's a great company. the men and women of general motors are so dedicate the and i truly believe we have the best team on the field. so it's an honor for me to be able to lead this team. >> barra was chosen unanimously by gm's board. she takes over for retiring ceo dan akerson on january 15th. westjet in canada. they set up a virtual santa, 240 passengers traveling to calgary were asked what they wanted for christmas. and while they were in flight, airline workers actually scrambled to gather as many gifts as possible so when they arrived to pick up luggage, they also found the gifts they asked santa for. can you believe it? well now that gimmick is, of course, a tv commercial. appleby's ordered 100,000 tablets for restaurants. and you can also play games and place orders. the tablet should hit tables and

bars at appleby's by the end of next year. "scrambled politics" is next. and we'll tell why you katie perry wouldn't let her parents come see her perform at president obama's inauguration. ! [ mainframe ] located. ge deep-sea fuel technology. a 50,000-pound, ingeniously wired machine that optimizes raw data to help safely discover and maximize resources in extreme conditions. our current situation seems rather extreme. why can't we maximize our... ready. ♪ brilliant. let's get out of here. warp speed. ♪ to share with family. [ woman 2 ] to carry on traditions.

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stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a 30-tablet free trial. now here's your first look at this morning's "scrambled politics." sandra clark is the fifth ever woman elected to the senate from

massachusetts. vice president joe biden announces $100 million will be spent to improve access to mental health services and facilities. the announcement comes day as head of the one-year anniversary of the sandy hook elementary school shooting. when it comes to handling health care policy, who do voters trust more? a new usa today poll reveals voters are more confidence in president obama than republican leaders 50-32. now to the hand shake that shocked the world between president obama and cuba's raul castro. so significant it was the second headline on cuba state-run newscast yesterday at 1:00 p.m. but that show of diplomacy was lost by texas senator ted cruz. the only u.s. senator to attend the service cruz is of cuban dissent and walked out of the memorial service when castro began to speak. just as mandela was released

after 27 years in prison, castro should finally release his political prisoners. he should hold free elections and once and for all set the cuban people free. well, on a much lighter note, ted cruz is featured in a new coloring book. really big coloring book says the 24-page cruz to the future is not an endorsement but an educational tool. publisher says it is a nonpartisan fact-driven view of how cruz became a u.s. senator. at $4.99, it could be a good stocking stuffer. and katie perry reveals while her republican parents did not come to her performance at president obama's inauguration in january. she banned them. she said they understood. but sh he told a magazine they didn't vote for obama but when i was asked to sung at the inauguration she was like we can come. i was like, no, you can't. i love you so much but that is on principle. she stuck to her guns. and that is your morning dish of

scrambled politics. all right. joining me now for our first look at politics, "washington post" congressional reporter ed o'keefe. good morning, ed. >> great to see you, betty. >> good to see you, too. let's start with that hand shake. xr scrutinized across the world when he shook the hand of raul castro at nelson mandela's memorial. was it protocol? was he upholding the message of reconciliation, or was the a really bad political blunder? >> i think it's a bit of one and two. as he comes upt stairs to the stage, who is the first guy he sees? one of the first guys he sees is raul kcastro. when you're at an event for nelson mandel what? what are you supposed to do? we don't know whether there is anything else in the works, perhaps secret talks between the u.s. and cuba. no reason to believe that just yet. so pretty much just protocol. >> all right. and then, of course, there was the selfie president obama took with the danish prime minister s

this modern day diplomacy or disrespectful? >> it depends. i think, you know, it was a long service. there were 90,000 people in this stadium. it's guy opportunity for people to chat with each other, get to know each other a little bit better. i think mandela, frankly, wanted that and knew with all the people coming that these types of things would happen. was it the best idea to take a selfie in the midst of a mem more yl service? maybe they could have done it in the hall away from photographers. >> you can see mrs. obama and she doesn't look too happy about it. >> she doesn't. i actually want to see the picture. we haven't seen the actual selfie yet. >> maybe they knew better to post it after all the talk about it. >> speaking of talk, let's talk about money. a bipartisan budget deal was announced to prevent a government shutdown in january. the president says it's a good first step. but conservative groups, they're skeptical about this. why is that? >> conservative groups and

liberal groups not happy with the deal. the good thing is it's a two-year budget agreement which means we'll avoid the threats of government shutdowns for the next two years. but there is concern that it's restoring some of the automatic budget cuts that took effect this year. also concern that about a million people would be out of unemployment insurance. as the day progresses to day, i'm sure we'll see lots of conservatives and liberals come out with concerns. but house and senate leaders still believe they've got enough support in both chambers to get a deal passed. the house would pass it by friday. the senate would take it up next week in time for christmas. >> a lot of people trying to avoid another government shutdown. thank you, ed. we appreciate your insight. >> take care. >> coming up, bill karins and richard lui will be here for "first buzz." we'll tell what you caught our eyes today including the man, the myth, and the legend, rhode island's favorite traffic cop. he is back in action. i'm beth...

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welcome back. time for "first buzz." bill, on this cold winter day, you have got quite the weather. >> it's avalanche season. out in the west this was captured in the mountains there in utah. this is a woman skier. she goes down this ravine. and then all of a sudden, it gives out. immediately her friend taping it saw the avalanche happening, stopped recording and went to run to dig her out. you can see where she ended up there. how did she survive? she had a new baklava that has air bags in it. it helps you float towards the top of the rolling snow.

so when you lend on the bottom, you don't get buried as deep. she can now live to tell about it. >> you're not as dense, you're very poofy. >> exactly. good for her. let's talk about the man, myth, legend. you got to take a look at this guy. he comes out every year around this time. he's retired. but he's decided to keep the dancing going. this is retired officer tony lapore. he is back by popular demand with these killer moves. i think he even does a split somewhere in it. >> i don't want to see that. >> it started in 1984. he retired in 1988. he always comes back during the holidays. and i was talking earlier. i think he practices during the off-season. >> of course he does. >> does he do the dougie? >> i don't know did the dougie. maybe the smurf. >> roger rabbit. >> he has smurfs and then godzilla, of course. >> let's look at the trailer. amazing stuff. they have another godzilla film coming out. they're going to release this. may in 2014.

do you remember the godzilla series? it goes back 1950. >> look at this trailer. what are they falling into some. >> godzilla versus who is my question. >> all right, we're going to leave with you a little godzilla as we say have a good morning. >> there it is. >> why should you shake hands with somebody who is keeping americans in prison? i mean, what's the point? >> do i need to once again from the hill tops -- ♪ raul castro is not adolph hitler ♪

raul castro isn't even fidel castro. it's like cuba's jim ballouchy. he ain't john. >> the memorial service for nelson mandela making news for a lot of reasons other than honoring the icon's legacy. plus, a candid photo of the president that's made its way all over the world. while the prewas flying back here, congress was making a deal. we'll break down details on an actual budget agreed upon in our nation's capital. and as a consumer, are you mad as hell and not going to take it anymore? if so, you're not alone. how many of us have experienced customer rage? this is "way too early"! i have the volume but not actual anger. i cafa