it would be like if mayor rob ford's new year's resolution was i promise to maintain my present level of crack smoking. >> all right. so congress has to get all its work done so everyone can go home for the holidays. and that means the senate moves forward with a vote today on a budget deal that already passed john boehner's house. also, relations between the u.s. and russia only getting more tense. no one from the white house is going to the olympics as mr. putin pledges billions to try to support the ukrainian government which is still taking serious heat for backing out of a european union trade deal. so who is more overexposed, rob ford or ron burgundy? tough call. we're not sick of a dancing mayor ford. at least not yet. this is "way too early." >> good morning, everybody.

brian shactman here. this is one of the those where you get a little bit of everything. yes, we have legitimate news and we have michael jordan not able to sell his mansion, president obama and what he likes on netflix and, yes, a guy tries to barter a live alligator for beer. and i'm just sort of curious can you ask yourself this question, how much beer should you get for a live alligator? 30 pack? a case? six-pack? i don't know. anyway, you get the picture here. and if you are one of the two mega millions winners can you afford to keep the gator and just buy the beer. tickets with all six numbers for the $636 million jackpot were sold in california and in georgia. one of the tickets was sold in a gift shop. the owner just bought the store four months ago. he'll get $1 million bonus. >> i feel good! i feel good! come to my store!

i feel good. i don't even know. i can't sleep tonight. >> teeing good! another winning ticket was sold in georgia in atlanta. each one worth $318 million, but, of course, you take the lump sum, it is a measly $170 million. let's move on to other news this morning. the senate ended debate on the ryan murray budget proposal setting up a fim vote on the bill later today. 12 republicans voted to advance the bill along with every democrat and independent in the senate. minority leader mitch mcconnell and marco rubio and ted cruz and rand paul voted against the measure. a number of republicans were against a portion of the bill that will cut $6 billion in retirement benefits for veterans. but senate leader harry reid blocked an amendment that would have blocked those cuts. president obama now expects to sign the bipartisan bill if it passes the final votes before he heads to hawaii for the winter

holiday. however, congress already preparing for its next big fiscal fight. senator mcconnell says republicans are unlikely to give the president a clean debt ceiling increase and paul ryan even suggesting that they should tie the keystone pipeline to raising the debt limit. but as has been the case for a while now, the white house continues to say it is unwilling to negotiate over the debt ceiling. the rebranding of obamacare continues today. former microsoft manager will take over the health insurance marketplace. if you don't know his name, he retired recently as president of microsoft's office division. yesterday the president hosted a group of technology executives for what the white house was calling a discussion of the health care website. the executives had a different issue on their mind, namely, the nsa. the tech industry collectively

pushed back on the surveillance programs making a hard case for some reform. after the meeting, the company's issued a one line statement. "we appreciate the opportunity to share directly with the president our principles on government surveillance that we released last week and we urge him to move aggressively on reform." more evidence of tension between the united states and russia. president obama announcing the u.s. delegation to the 2014 sochi winter olympics and it's clear that it's a rebuke of president putin. billie jean king will be one of two openly gay athletes with the group in february. russia has faced criticism for its treatment of guys and lesbians including a law banning gay propaganda. in a statement, president obama said in part, "the u.s. delegation to the olympic games represents the diversity that is the united states. we are proud of each and every one of them and think they serve

as great ambassadors of the united states to the olympic games." it was also announced that neither president obama nor vice president biden will be attending the games. that's a direct snub at russia. first time since 2000 the u.s. president and vice president or first lady were not in that delegation. want to stay on the subject of russia for a second. president putin made a strong show of support for the ukrainian government pledging $15 fwol a bailout package to the cash strapped country. it includes loans and discount on natural gas. protests have taken to the streets in recent weeks after the ukrainian president rejected a trade agreement with the european union. it would have weakened russia's influence over its neighbor. this morning it's unclear what brought down a blackhawk helicopter in afghanistan that left six servicemen dead. two u.s. army blackhawks were flying together over afghanistan when without warning one the

blackhawks crashed suddenly. of the seven men, just one survived. critically injured. rescued by a quick response team. no word on whether the helicopter was shot down or whether it was a mechanical failure. 2,160 american servicemen and women have been killed in the 12-year war in afghanistan. new revelations provide insight about the gunman in the colorado high school shooting. according to police, karl pierson wrote a message on his arm including one phrase in latin for the die has been cast. he also scribbled a series of numbers and letters which the sheriff's department says corresponds to thely braer and other classrooms near. an indication he may have planned to harm others. pierson was reportedly upset over losing a spot on the debate team and had gone to the library in search of tracy murphy, his debate coach, and the school

librarian. pierson's one victim clair davis remains in critical condition this morning. there's a silver lining for one of the victims of april's boston marathon bombing. james costello was severely injured in the blast this spring. he had taken a look at him in a picture in the aftermath. he was burned. his clothes were in tatters. he endured a long, long rehabilitation including skin grafts and procedure to remove nails from his abt men. but that's where he met nurse krista dagastino. while on a cruise for the bombing, the two of them, costello popped the question and she said yes. he said i now realize why i was involved in the tragedy, it was to meet my best friend and the love of my life. i know. a little choked up. it's a really nice end to that story. now to business. later today we get an update on

the housing market as well as a handful of new earnings reports. the federal reserve wraps up the two day policy meeting. yesterday it was kind of a quiet day on wall street. the dow lost about 9 1/2 points. nobody wants to make a big bet before the fed annoyancement and news conference. let's go to jeff cutmoore live in london. >> good morning you to, brian. debt taper is doing the rounds at the moment. you see what they've done there? put december and taper together. that is the big fear, i guess, for the market. mr. bernanke chooses this month to start rolling back the $85 billion that's been spent monthly buying u.s. debt. if that begins, it's the signal in a turn in the interest rate story. that's what is raising some concerns in the markets here. i have to tell you that the smart money continues to insist it won't be debt taper. it will happen in april, march

or maybe even as early as february if the data gets better. this is a fascinating story. talented advertising agency william morris picking up ing. they sport and media talent group here. $2.3 billion is the pricetag. they beat out two other bidders to take the day on this img deal. >> you know, we talk a lot about the wealth gap in the u.s. there is one story who did this story. the wealthy are actually becoming banks for their own families. can you explain a little bit? >> yeah. the term family bank. this is like the inverted scrooge story. merryll lynch and a bunch of others have done a survey. what they found is nearly half of all millionaires have been funding family members. and more than 80% of those, i think, gave money to adult children. so not such scrooge-like

behavior, it seems, from millionaires. and that's where they got this tag the family bank, brian. it would be nice to have one in the cutmoore family. i don't have one yet. but if i could adopt one, if there are millionaires out there looking for a grown-upson, i'm here and available. >> ours would be a piggy bank. we'll keep on the lookout for you. we appreciate it v a good holiday. all right. now to an update on a story you may have heard about, four buildings on the harvard campus were evacuated monday after a bomb threat. serious stuff. but federal prosecutors say a student trying to get out of a final exam was behind the hoax. he faces criminal charges. it's a bit extreme to get out of a test, right? but i don't think it's the most creative. let's turn to twitter. what is the most interesting thing you've done to avoid taking an exam? i, for one, schedule my wisdoms out right in the middle of fims

to get a little extra time for psycholo psychology. still ahead on "way too early," paying luxury tax. the hefty bill the yankees are facing and how it compares to the rest of baseball. also, why this guy decided he should bring a live alligator into a miami convenience store. he wasn't trading it for a mega millions ticket. he just wanted some beer. that and a check on weather with bill karins when we come right back. ♪ [ mom ] with my little girl, every food is finger food.

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all right. time for sports. let's start with the nba. blazers and cavs all tied up in the game's final seconds. >> shutting down like did he last year. are you kidding me? >> are you kidding me? we need a new phrase. damon little yard with the fourth game winning shot of the

season. cleveland gets one more chance. portland hangs on 119-116. they have the best record in the nba and i have no idea they were that good. michael jordan having trouble selling his chicago land mansion. >> feeling bad for him? >> negative. no one bid on it when it went up for auction on monday. one auctioner listed it at $29 million. that is a little pricey. it's pri fancy. >> nine bedrooms, a beauty salon, gourmet kitchen with a wine cellar large enough to stock more than 1,000 bottles. a man cave to beat all man caves. call it a playground for grownups. more than seven acres including a stocked fishing pond, tennis court, private putting green where air jordan himself putted around. >> that is willie geist reporting. the estate has more than 56,000 square feet of living space and includes 15 full baths and five fireplac

fireplaces. i love willie, he dunked on a ten footer. >> that added a million right there. >> yes. i'm sorry. a full length basketball court. let's go to baseball. yafrpees oeg major league baseball $28 million in luxury taxes. they join the bombers to blow past the $178 million cap. payroll is higher than the yankees. new york paid out at a higher rate of 50% because they've been over the limit for four straight years. the daily news reports since the luxury tax penalties began in '03, its yankees shelled out more than a quarter billion dollars of the $285 million in tax pay debt that all the major league teams, all the luxury tax has been paid by the new york yankees. >> let's go to a serious topic. the league will learn to work more about the brain disease that is impacting athletes from the gridiron and the hockey ring. they settled a lawsuit last

august. but stephanie goss being has more on how the disease is impacting the families of these former players. >> henry bradley struggles to get down the stairs. he wears the scars of five years as a professional defensive tackle. >> the knees hurt when you get up and down? >> oh, yes. >> what else hurts? >> shoulder. back. >> the brain injury is less advicible n a 2010 report, his doctor diagnosed post traumatic head syndrome and blamed it on cumulative trauka while playing professional football. >> when the brain is not working, you're done. that is the most scary part for me. >> the league was accused of hiding the health risks of repeateded concussions which it denies. lawyers on both sides are finalizing details of the settlement which compensates players and funds medical research. espn reports some retired players may be cut out. in a law firm wrote this letter

to the clients suggesting there may be less money for players diagnosed after age 45. or for those who played five years or less. the nfl would not comment on the on going negotiations but the commissioner has said this is the best deal for both sides. >> that was stephanie goss being reporting. now one of the most memorable hits from this weekend was actually on a punter. kevin huber fractured his jaw during a punt return on sunday. there he is after the fact. now one fan is not happy about it. nicholas johnson wrote a letter to hubert to let him know how he feels about it and his dad posted it on twitter. he writes in part, i hope you feel better soon. i am mad at the steelers because you are my number one player. i hope that steeler player loses his house and has to live in his car. i think we want a suspension or fine. but we don't want all this. the nfl players -- steelers player should have been flag for

the hit and he'll probably face a fine although i don't think he will be removed from his home. >> no. >> or vehicle or anything else. >> very creative 7-year-old. snowstorm hit boston area hard last year. new hampshire area and maine, not a fun ride home. that is now gone. there are snow showers left over. that is about it. as far as the wind chill goes, its a cold morning. it's not going to be fun in maine. it is minus three in the bangor area. this is one of the coldest mornings we're going see for a while. a good warming trend is coming for the entire eastern half of the country. it will come at a cost of rain and severe thunderstorms. maybe a few tornadoes in louisiana, mississippi, watching arkansas. today, not much of a snow melt in the northeast. 60s by the weekend. d.c. could hit 70. >> shorts. >> yeah. >> thank you, bill. >> coming up, morning joe. she's an academy award winner and now jennifer lawrence taking

aim at the media. why it is promoting meanness this pop culture. when we come back here, we'll huddle around the cooler. if you're amused by rob ford dancing, we'll have more and try to explain why he does it. ♪ i wanna spread a little love this year ♪ [ male announcer ] this december, remember -- you can unwrap craftsmanship, inspiring capability, and some of the best offers of the year on our most versatile luxury utility vehicles at the lexus december to remember sales event. lease the 2014 gx 460 for $499 a month for 27 months. see your lexus dealer. mmm! this is delicious katie. it's not bad for canned soup, right? pfft! [ laughs ]

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at the top of the show we talked about the mega millions winning tickets which were sold in california and georgia. if you want to sound smart today, tell your friends in 2013 there is more than $500 million worth of unclaimed lottery prizes from scratchoff games, lotto and daily games. states allowed between 180 too 365 days for the prize money to be claimed. some states use the unclaimed money to fund education projects. others put the money back into the prize pool or use it to fund other games. lewis, a little tired? did you have a holiday party last night? >> no, but i have no use for these anymore since the two tickets were in california and georgia. let's go to netflix programming. kevin spacey knows all the ins and outs of washington on netflix house of cards. >> what amounts more than anything is a sword to fall on. so you shot in the blade, hoed it in right will angle and then in three, two, one.

>> it should be me. >> turns out president obama is a pretty big fan of the series. he told netflix ceo during a tech forum that he hoped real life washington worked as well as the house of cards washington. >> i wish things were that ruthless ruthlessly taken. that's true. i was thinking, man this guy is getting a lot of stuff done. >> president obama went on to playfully ask if there were any advanced copies of season two. the next flichl ceo replied by offering him a cameo on the show. you know what is more refreshing after a tough day offal gaof al g alligator hunting? a nice cold beer. here's advice. bring cash not the gator. this happened in miamiment it was caught on camera. this man tried to trade a live four foot alligator for a 12 pack. don't worry, the gator is in

good shape and released back into the wild. by the way, it's against the law to even touch wild alligators in florida. come on, fernando. you should know better than. that but, hey, when you're catching gators, it is nice to drink a cold bud. stephen excited about the coloring book featuring the personal story of ted cruz' life. >> a coloring book about ted cruz is currently the number one book on amazon's list of children's coloring books. i know! it makes me happy, too. people who bought the ted cruz coloring book also bought a crayola 64 pack of white crayons. and i'm not surprised really big coloring books publish this gem because they're the same patriots that bring kids the tea party coloring book for kids and libertarian party government with john stossel right on the cover. you can color in his mustache, kids, just like john stossel

does. >> i know what i want for christmas now. let's go to jimmy kimmel. he continues to show appreciation for the gift that keeps on giving. toronto's very own rob ford. >> we got an early christmas gift today from toronto. >> just before we go further on this, they're dancing at city hall. look at that. isn't that great? there is the mayor. boogie down mayor ford. and the one in the red is the speaker. ♪ >> is that real? this is actually live. this shapg right now. it's merry christmas at toronto city hall. >> what the hell is going on? are they all on crack? >> mayor ford knows how to cut a rug, brian. he's in the holiday spirit. serve getting along there. >> i think the woman in the red jacket is the one he knocked

over. i think everyone is getting along. thank you, lewis. still ahead on "way too early," the best things -- or most interesting things you've ever done to get out of a test. your tweets coming up and "morning joe" moments away. if hey breathing's hard.me, know the feeling? copd includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. spiriva is a once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that helps open my obstructed airways for a full 24 hours.

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all right. grandma, can you go i didn't mean to put those things together. "the morning joe" starts right now. [ music playing [ music playing ] >> i think john boehner is one of the prime examples of worthless, worthless republicans. >> this is basically democrat light. >> the speaker is ab surltd. >> the speaker has demonstrated a poverty of leadership. >> wait a second. we just go2