. good friday morning. right now on "first look" -- folks in parts of the midwest, northeast, still in the dark and cold following the sunday ice storm. 1.3 million people face losing their emergency unemployment benefits tomorrow. ice breakers race to the coast of antarctica, after a call from a big ship trapped with nearly 70 people on board. and two massive highway palts in pennsylvania. argentine travelers attacked by fish. and a web glitch. tens of thousands are in the dark and cold. some this season just wants heat

and power. kevin tibbles has more. >> reporter: across the midwest and north let's, crews have been scrambling to restore power to those who lost it in last weekend's massive ice storm. >> going along. >> reporter: in lansing, michigan, this family has been without power for five days. spent the last three nights in a hotel room. they spent christmas day shivering in coats at home opening presents. >> all the other things don't mat person we were together and still had a great christmas. >> reporter: in maine, 94-year-old grace has been in the dark since sunday. a friend came by with a generator and spent the night to make sure grace is okay. temperatures in her home had dropped into the 40s. >> there you go, grace. >> there's nothing you can do, really. you just wait it out. but keep a sense of humor about it. because it, too, shall pass. >> reporter: one of the biggest

concerns is carbon monoxide poisoning. >> we ask that anyone using an emergency generator use it outdoors only, at least 15 feet away from doors and windows, and never, ever, ever in a basement or attached garage. >> reporter: it is equally grim north of the board. at least 100,000 remain without power from terr er froer from t maritimes. in pennsylvania, those icy conditions are being blamed on several multivehicle pileups and crashes along the turnpike. >> it's winter. it's cold. we say it will get a little bit of a warmup, we're talking about just in the 30s. >> reporter: but in spite of spending the holiday in the cold many are keeping their christmas spirits up. dozens of families spent the day in the red cross shelter in

lansing. >> it's frustrating. but it's better than being at home. >> nbc's kevin tibbles reporting there. 1.3 million people stand to lose their unemployment benefits tomorrow. congress failed to extend the benefits as part of the fiscal framework. the outlook is uncertain about them being reinstated. danielle, good morning. there is obviously a great human impact here. can it be resolved? >> hi, veronica. that's what everyone will look for early in the new year. on average, he's benefits are about $300 a week for people who have been out of work for six months. this is likely going to impact the entire economic recovery.

all of us could feel the effects. some lawmakers are hoping to push a bill through congress that would restore these benefi benefits retro actively. many republicans say they'll vote against it unless that money is found elsewhere. it's not looking good. especially after the budget debate this year. the extension did not make it in the budget compromise that president obama just signed into law. he also, yesterday, signed a defense bill into law. that will crack down on sexual assaults in the military and make it easier to transfer people from guantanamo bay. >> danielle, thank you. u.p.s. and fedex are scrambling to deliver the late christmas packages. they're all expected to be here

by today. a small percentage of customers didn't have gifts for their families. outraged customers pummeled the companies on social media. one worker writing on the website. i worked 10-14 hours a day for a month straight. you people have no idea what happens inside that brown truck. the russian ship stuck in antarctic ice will be getting help today. the 74 people on board are safe and have plenty of supplied. new this morning, one of the passengers posted a picture of an ice breaker on if horizon. >> reporter: the coldest and windiest place on earth. an expedition cruise ship is

stuff in an ocean of ice. the vessel has not moved for the last two days. professor chris turney, passengers, and a crew of 20 are trapped. he reported on youtube. >> i was surrounded by sea ice. we just can't get through. everyone is safe. the vessel is perfectly safe. but we can't make a passage forward. >> reporter: they set off from the southern most portion of new zealand. they made their way to morrison's base. 100 years ago, explorers accomplished the base kamp that remains remarkably well p preserved. everything went well for 18 days. and then this problem with the ice. penguins are trapped. this iceberg has cut them off from the south.

the drama at sea didn't upset the passengers who messaged fans they had a wonderful christmas. the latest news is that the chinese ice breaker, the snow drag dragon, should arrive in 24 hours to try to cut them free. major pileup about 50 miles west of philadelphia. 35 vehicles involved causing a four-mile backup. officials say the crashes were likely due to a fast-moving band of snow coming through the area. and now for a look at the friday forecast, here's dylan dryer. good morning to you. >> good morning. not a lot of snow in that area. it came fast. just enough to make the roads slippery in a short period of time. that snow is long gone. now we're looking at weather moving in from ontario. from cleveland through erie,

right into buffalo. across the tug hill plat tow, that's where we'll see the heaviest, most persistent snow. a lake-effect snow warning, 6 to 12 inches of snow possible on top of the inches and feet they have out there now. on the gulf coast, the area of low pressure. producing heavy rain in that area today. then it starts to move eastward as we head into the weekend. the southeast gets heavy rain on saturday. it is inching closer and closer to houston. about two inches of rain expected there opinion we could see two to three inches through the southeast on saturday. a lot of heavy rain across the mid-atlantic, up into new england. lit warm up with the next system moving in. not snow, but rain. >> a lot of people are -- >> the new year looks quiet.

it's good for travelers. >> thank you, dylan. now to sports, the green bay packers are prepping for sunday's game with number 12. rodgers will be back for the final regular season game for the bears. this could be a big game for the packers leading for a playoff spot. >> we're in it. we have a chance against our rivals. and -- what a better way to go down there and get some redemption and host a home playoff game. michigan state linebacker max bullough will no go to the rose bowl. he's been suspended due to violating team rules. d the coach said it's extremely disappointing for all involved. lebron james joins larry bird and michael jordan as the

only three players to share a title. the pittsburgh panthers won with the help of james con nor a and rushing a career high in yards. they won 30-27. at least two members of the houston oilers 1993 team were homosexual. the team knew, accepted them, and did not outcast them. bruno mars is getting ready for the halftime show at the super bowl. he said in a recent interview everyone's putting the fear of god in me, like there's going to be a blizzard. i know it will be cold. hey, i just gotta face it. good attitude. business headlines straight ahead. plus, a swimmer's nightmare. carnivorous fish attack dozens

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good morning and welcome back. we're foming breaking news overnight in lebanon. a car bomb exploded in the capital city of beirut, killing five people, including a former ambassador to the u.s. the blast was heard across the city and sent thick black smoke billowing downtown. the u.s. has sent missiles to iraq's military to help. the man accused of the november 1st shootings inside the l.a.x. terminal entered a not guilty plea on thursday. he's accused of killing a tsa agent and kiwounding three othe people. swummers attacked by fish on christmas day. some children lost part or all

of their fingers. the fish are believed to be a relative of the piranha. in one of the busiest travel weeks of the year, man hopped a fence at the sky harbor airport. he caused a southwest jet to stop in its tracks. the man was most likely intoxicated and under the influence of drugs. and now for your first look at business, we go the hampton pearson. good morning. >> hey, veronica. we have futures higher after stocks hit record highs on thursday following reporteds showing a bigger than expected drop in the number of people filing for unemployment last week. the dow with the best six-day win streak since july of 2010. the head of the national retail federation tells cnbc he's confident that holiday sales will hit the group's target. mastercard advisers say stores

used higher discounts to attract more customers and sales grow. delta says it will honor cheap fares advertised by mistake. among them a round trip flight for $25 that is normally more than $400. veronica, back to you. >> hampton, thank you. now for your first look at this morning's dish of scrambled politi politics. neck and neck. hillary clinton and governor chris christie are dead locked in a potential matchup for 2016. could antony wiener be planning a comeback? the failed candidate posted a message saying i do want to take stock a bit of 2013. it certainly didn't go as i hope pid continue to be deeply sorry that my personal mistake undermined an amazing campaign. he said, what's next? i'll keep you posted on my plans

but i hope we keep the band together. a record year for gun background checks in colorado, all because of legislation that requires them for private firearm transfers. that's 19,000 more than last year. republican governor nikki haley says she must have been good because santa gave her a beretta px 4 storm and gun. she believes focusing on mental health care, not gun control, would prevent violence. first lady michelle obama will ring in her 50th birthday next month. the white house is sending out save the date cards. secretary of state john kerry and walker snoop dogg walk

into a room. and what happens? diplomacy and a fist bump. snoop tweeted boss life. me and john kerry at the white house. john kerry responding, between us, we have sold 30 million. what, what? that's going to do it for your morning dish of scrambled politics. and joining me now for our first look at politics, as he does every friday, kevin cirilli. good morning, kevin. happy friday. >> happy friday, good morning to you too. >> we all know the clock ticking for 1.3 million americans who will lose unemployment benefits tomorrow. this congress is already widely disliked by so many people. is there a chance that might reach a compromise here? >> this is hope, actually, senators jack reed and dean heller, a democrat and

republican respectively, have put forth a plan to extend this program, which was a temporary program first pro posed as a result of the recession. now some libertarians and republicans say they would like end to this program because they argue it's no longer needed. that said, it's about a $300 check to americans who need it the most. >> right. i mean are there any other options for these people once they lose those benefits? >> unemployment at 7%. house speaker boehner says he would be able to get on board to fund an extension of this program if they were able to find another way to fund it. we could see more hope. but 1.3 million people are affected, but an additional 1.9 million affected by mid 2014 at the state level as the time tix

down on these crucial mapayment to americans that need it the most. >> what could this mean for the economy? >> you're looking at swing states. i think that is interesting politically. states like ohio, florida, you know, where a lot of these folks, you know, like i said, the economy, perhaps, hasn't recovered as mump as it needs to. and then you have a city like detroit, which has just gone bankrupt. a lot of these places still haven't inched out of the recession. the economy is not where it would need to be. like i said, these are the people that need the payments the most. >> all right, let's go ahead and look at our list. nbc's first read released the list of top political stars to watch in 2014. >> anthony weiner is not on it. >> if you could pick one person

who is one to watch in 2014. >> the one to watch? i would have to go with -- i'm going to say senator rand paul. i think he's continued to have an interesting climb. i think he's been threatening to file a lawsuit against the nsa, which could keep him in the political spotlight. clearly, he's a 2016 contender. i think he has a compelling story to tell and a base to rally. it will be interesting to see how he inherits his father's legacy. >> great to see you. have a great weekend. >> you, too. up next, dylan dreyer with your weekend forecast. and the race to solve a mystery involving an american icon. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. to carry on traditions. [ woman 3 ] to come together even when we're apart. [ male announcer ] in stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and more, swanson makes holiday dishes delicious.

[ female announcer ] we eased your back pain, you turned up the fun. tylenol® provides strong pain relief while being gentle on your stomach. but for everything we do, we know you do so much more. tylenol®. welcome back. a mysterious illness is killing one of our country's most treasured icons. the bald eagle. a team of researchers are looking into the deadly sickness hoping to find a cauure before spreads. >> reporter: what began as a hike turned into a rescue. the bald eagle, one of our country's most majestic creatures, was spotted in trouble by taylor and his father-in-law, bob. >> you could tell it was a bald eagle. the white head, the big yellow baek. it was almost immediate.

that's a bald eagle down. clearly, it couldn't fly. >> reporter: using his new gopro camera, he recorded the experience. they delicately wrapped the bird, with its six-foot wingspan and razor-sharp baek, driving him to safety. >> how is he doing? >> reporter: keeping the eagle calm, at home, until wild life experts arrived. >> then it became our friend. we took it home and watched football. >> it was awesome. >> reporter: the eagle was brought here to the wild life rehabilitation center where it joined three other sick bald eagles. >> we don't have the piece of the puzzle. this could be the end of it or the tip of the iceberg. >> reporter: so far this month, 16 bald eagles have died from the same illness. bloodwork has been sent to a lab for testing. those results could be back in days or weeks. and could be the

solving this mystery. bald eagles are no longer endangered but are still federally protected. >> the bald eagle is what america stands for. to see one hurt, injured, that's not what you want to see. >> reporter: tonight in utah, something is killing this creature. now the raes against time to save them. miguel almaguer, bountiful, utah. it looks quiet for most areas, as we get into this friday here. 32 in new york city right now. 32 in washington, d.c. also across the west coast, temperatures around freezing. it's foggy. we're starting with freezing fog throughout. we have heavy rain down through southern texas and lake-effect snow near syracuse. off and on showers in the forecast today through florida. tomorrow, the rain moves into the southeast. we could end up with a couple of inches of rain in the southeast

through the day on saturday. that is a train storm that makes its way to the southeast but sunday. 48 as we start off in new york city the 54 in washington, d.c. 45 in chicago. it's nice that we're starting to see a warmup. >> i'll take it. looks good. i'm veronica de la cruz. this is "first look" on msnbc. is it africa? the middle east? canada? or the u.s.? the answer is... the u.s. ♪ most of america's energy comes from right here at home. take the energy quiz. energy lives here. [ female announcer ] we eased your back pain, you turned up the fun. tylenol® provides strong pain relief

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good friday among, right now on "first look" parts of the midwest, northeast, still in the dark and cold. 1.3 million people face losing their emergency unemployment benefits. ice breaks race to antarctica after a distress call from a ship with 70 people on board. two massive highway pile yups in pennsylvania. and lucky travelers cash in on a web glitch. good morning, nice to see you. tens of thousands still in the dark and the cold and it could get worse. more snow is on the way, leading some this