attorney in virginia that he had to wait and sit on these charges until governor mcdonnell is out of office. weird enough decision in the good tuesday morning. winter plunge. major snow and frigid temperatures are ahead. bill karins will have the details in a few minutes. black widows, russian security officials are searching for suicide bombers that may be planning an attack on the olympics. and embattled governor. new jersey's chris christie prepares to be sworn in today for a second term. plus, a shooter remains at large at a college student fights for his life. is pope frances about to loosen up on reforms for the catholic church? and the growing halo effect of the sun dog. all right. it's back, a deep freeze setting

sights once again on the midwest, northeast. snow, ice, and more bone chilling temperatures are all on the way. nbc meteorologist bill karins are here. they're going to see the largest snowfalls in years? >> washington, d.c., they haven't had a snowfall this big going back since january of 2011. so it's a big deal in some spots. it's the middle of winter. you're going to have difficult travel days. a lot of flights are already canceled. ♪ storm is located over kentucky. the snow goes from st. louis to indianapolis. i-70 is not an easy drive. worst weather in the country is chicago. wind chill, minus 15 with a heavy lake-effect snow band over downtown. they koend could end up with a f snow. the new breaking news is blizzard warnings issued for areas of cape cod and extremely eastern portions of the south shore. they're south of boston. winter storm warnings through

i-95. the timing of the snow will be during the mid morning to late afternoon from areas around d.c. about mid afternoon through this evening from boston to new york city. 6 to 10 in this area of pink. it's an i-95 snowstorm. the highest totals will be found in the cities, d.c., baltimore, philly, new york city and southern new england. >> okay. thank you. the frigid air is bringing a new threat staying warm. more than a dozen states had emergency declarations in place because of a shortage of propane gas. tracie potts is live in washington. is this leading to rationing and price hikes? >> it is, especially in the midwest. they started out the season with less propane than they normally have. this also affects the northeast. this is really going to be the second big round of cold and snow that we've seen so far this season. old man winter came early so people have been heating homes and businesses for longer. they're in the process of trying to stay warm. they're burning more fuel.

that has led in part to a propane shortage. now what that means is it's harder to get and it's more expensive, more demand, less supply means according to government figures people are paying up to 46% more for propane than they did last year. some customers tell us they're paying double what they paid last year. assistance applications for home heating assistance is up as well. 15 states that have declared emergencies. and government, the transportation department has relaxed some of the regulations to try to get more oil to people as the cold starts to settle in. >> this is very important. all right. thank you for that. now to russia. there is a widening terror threat ahead of the olympic games in sochi. the search is on for four so-called black widows. female suicide bombers that may be assigned to carry out attacks at the olympics. u.s. commanders in the area are preparing to help the russians with their security prep if

requested. usair and naval assistance including two naval ships and the black sea will be available if evacuations are necessary. nbc's chief foreign be correspondent has more. >> reporter: at the sochi airport, travel erers were clos watched as they search for four women suspected suicide bombers who may be planning an attack on the olympics. one of them who may have already made it into sochi is this 22-year-old. police distributed wanted posters. she is a so-called black widow. she reportedly got that scar on her cheek from a raid by russian forces last year. her husband was killed. all this follows a threat from the grave two men in a video claiming they are responsible of the attack last year and warn of

attacks on the olympics to come. they are from the heart of russia's islamic insurgency. we recently visited where many hate vladimir putin and want independence from russia. officials complain they are not getting enough security cooperation from russia, specifically they worry sochi doesn't have the infrastructure in place, the roads, hospitals, to manage a crisis should one occur. richard engel, nbc news, moscow. later today, new jersey governor chris christie begins his second term. a slew of allegations from his first term are sure to follow him. the latest is a case of she said, she said involving christie's top lieutenant and a small town mayor with a big accusation. kelly o'donnell has our report. >> reporter: new jersey's lieutenant governor joined volunteers at a hurricane sandy rebuilding event. and she hammered at a new political crisis.

>> the suggestion that anyone would hold back sandy relief funds for any reason is wholly and completely false. >> reporter: that allegation comes from democrat dawn zimmer who this weekend went on television and met with the u.s. attorneys office. zirm claims last may the lieutenant governor and another top official seen with the governor just last week both told her relief funds would be held up unless zimmer backed a major commercial develop. . >> she said, i know it's not right. i know this should not be connected but they are. if you tell anyone, i'll deny it. >> she acknowledged a conversation but -- >> i'm very surprised by the mayor's allegations and i deny wholeheartedly those allegations. >> reporter: constable said they are false and absurd.

the lieutenant governor would not take questions citing pending investigations. why would she make the allegations? zimmer says she is genuinely disappointed in her response but stands by her word. zimmer says they only received $342,000 directly from the state. christie recovery officials said the administration helped deliver $70 million in mostly federal aid to the residence and businesses. >> i'm scratching my head a little bit about, you know, any community that's getting the shortened of the stick. >> reporter: zimmer requested an additional $9 amillion to prevent future storm damage, not sandy relief. the administration says that is about one-third of what is available for the whole state. >> and that was kelly o'donnell reporting. this morning the cause of a deadly plant explosion in omaha, nebraska, is unknown. two people were killed monday morning. ten were hospitalized with significant injuries. after the blast, the second and

third floors just collapsed as you see there. firefighters had to use a jaws of life to rescue one person from the concrete and steel. >> our initial crews performed with incredible bravery. they did a tremendous job. and i'm grateful for what they did today. >> severe weather halted the recovery operation overnight. but it will resume this morning. get the latest sports. hey there, richard. >> good tuesday to you, betty. one of the laws of nature, the rule of threes. rained uponvil villanova. 21 three pointers. one player alone had nine tying a school record. he did better in practice, to be honest. villanova, 96-69. lakers, less than one second left in overtime. perfect inbound pass to todd

gibson. but does his shot beat the buzzer? the replay says -- very slow. very deliberately played, yes. the bulls edge the lakers 102-100. richard sherman, yeah, he saved the game with this pass deflection. heard about that. his boast after that play, heard about that. about being the best and his opponent mediocre. stirred controversy. sherman now saying, i apologize for attacken an individual, taking attention away from the fantastic game and my teammates. that was not my intent. how mad was he? vancouver's nhl coach gets up from the rank and beelines it to the opponent's locker room. >> to do what? >> it was after a player brawl saturday. the nhl says we don't like that. come on in. they sat him down. he gets a 15-day suspension and will miss six games. he's known for it though. thanks to $110,000 the two man

jamaican bobsled team going to be in the olympics. they trained in the u.s. and much of the money came from u.s. addressed credit cards. so a lot of us want to see them there. the russian speed skater finishes first in the warmup. wait. hang on a second. is that the middle finger. jimmy fallon, what do you think? >> look at this photo there. yep. that's what you call killing one stone with two birds. >> and it was a warmup. >> don't do that in your games. >> just a warmup though. >> i know, he was really upset apparently. okay. thank you, richard. a creative idea to pay down that college debt. is riran's economy about to get millions? you're watching "first look" on msnbc. [ female announcer ] starting with the cocoa bean,

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police in texas arresting a mexican couple at the u.s. border allegedly carrying credit cards with account information from the data breech at target. still, however, there's one federal authority with knowledge of the case saying the arrests are not connected to the target investigation. union members are opposing the u.s. postal service decision to open retail centers at staples stores. they're threatening a boycott because the centers are going to be staffed by staples employees and not u.s. postal workers. back to you. developing overnight, a stupt at pennsylvania's widener university is in surgery after being shot by an unknown assailant on campus. school officials say the campus is on lockdown until 6:00 a.m. this morning. right now though, police do not believe the shooter is still on campus. crippling economic sanctions against iran are lifted now that the country is scaling back the nuclear program. the loosened sanctions will allow iran to billions of dollars that were frozen. it allow the country to export

oil and trading gold. iran must continue to be transparent about the nuclear programs. kenneth bay, the u.s. citizen that was held in north korea for a year. he appeared on camera monday to deliver a plea from help from the u.s. in his preapproved statement, he committed acts against the north korean government for which he is serving a sentence of 15 years hard labor. and aid to pope frances criticized his doctrinal watchdog urging him to be more flexible about reforms being discussed in the roman catholic church. archbishop mueller opposed any loosening of rules dealing have divorce. you have to see this. this is a sun dog. that is beautiful. appeared in moscow over the weekend. the glowing halo effect, that's caused by light reflecting through ice crystals. scrambled politics is next. we'll tell you about robert bush's secret crush.

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a release from the school does not specify what topics or issues she will discuss. can't we all just get along? former first lady barbara bush can teach lawmakers a thing or two about good will. she's revealing surprising affection for one former rival. >> bill's father wasn't around. and i think that he thinks of george a little bit like the father he didn't have. and he's very loving to him. and i really appreciate that. and when they went on that long tsunami trip, george told me bill insisted he stay in the bed and bill instisted he was taken care of. and that was really nice. i love bill clinton. maybe not his politics but i love bill clinton. >> there you have it. president obama honored dr. martin luther king's legacy of service by visiting a d.c. soup kitchen. the first family helped prepare

the daily meals by joining the assembly line making burritos. vice president biden appeared at the national network's annual mlk breakfast. on the holiday, sarah palin took to her facebook to celebrate the day. the former gop wrote to president obama asking him to stop playing the race card. no explanation on what she meant by that. that follows a quote from dr. king's i have a dream speech. later this morning, can anonymous tips justify a police search? today the supreme court hears a case about how far cops can take the words of unnamed tipsters. it raises important questions about the fourth amendment which lays out ho to conduct legal searches and seizures. and that is your dish of scrambled politics. joining me for the first look at politics is "newsday" columnist and political analyst ellis heniken. >> i hope you don't put any anonymous tips in me. >> not yet.

you don't have to worry yet. chris christie though, he's still worrying a little bit. we have another one. this time another mayor talking about possible political retribution. this time dealing with the allegations of withholding hurricane sandy relief funds. is there any merit to this? >> there is certainly political merit to it at this point. you've got mayor zimmer there saying that we deserve this money and was made clear to me by the lieutenant governor we wouldn't get it unless i supported this develop. program. >> that's quite a statement though. >> it is. at this point, there is two different versions of a conversation. >> she said/she said. >> i do have to say at this point i think the mayor is ahead on it. she sat down with steve carnacky here. yesterday they gave a written statement declining to answer questions. you know, it had that kind of

lawyerly tone to it. i'm not saying she's telling the truth but on atmospherics right now, the mayor may be a little bit ahead. >> taking all of this in, right, because no one's been charged with anyone just yet. is this hurting his chances of a possible presidential run? according to christie, he said this made him readier in his terminology. >> it's ironic. i'm really ready to go. maybe the people aren't as ready to have me. there is a poll out from pugh. >> right. >> i think that may be the best evidence we have. it says while his approval ratings haven't fallen too much, a couple points, the disapproval, people who don't like him have doubled from 17% to 34%. so what's that telling us is the people in the middle are saying, you know, i just don't believe this guy. >> and it comes at the beginning of the second term. we will see how this plays out. >> it is a big ceremonial day in jersey today with a little bit

of a tinge. >> thank you so much. coming up, bill karins and richard will be back for our "first buzz." we're going to tell you about mow del's very expensive gamble on the afc championship. epend last weekend. it really made the difference between a morning around the house and getting a little exercise. hi-ya! and i tried a baking class. one weekend can make all the difference. unlike the bargain brand, depend gives you the confidence of new fit-flex® protection. it's a smooth and comfortable fit with more lycra strands. it's our best protection. take your weekend on with a free sample at depend.com peoi go to angie's listt for all kinds of reasons. to gauge whether or not the projects will be done

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all right. i'm going to start with this, guys. there's a birthday celebration over the weekend and it was the first lady turning 50. guess who showed up to party? jimmy fallon will tell you about that. >> beyonce performed at michelle obama's 50th birthday party.

there is no better way than to have to spend your party looking at beyonce the whole time. >> he is so right. >> and that is the gold dress. >> these are some of the pictures she posted following the event. there is another great picture of her walking in holding her little baby girl blue's hand. must have been quite the show. i can only imagine. >> if there is someone in the world that would feel pretty secure in their own self, i imagine it's the first lady. >> she has nothing to worry about. you know, bill, model has a little to worry about. >> they is a big sporting goods company in the northeast and new england. they wanted to get ahead of the game and they hedged their bets that new england would beat denver. they spent half a million on printing up afc championship shirts and hats for the new england patriots. and here's the catch on it. they took a risk. they lost. they're not allowed to sell them

to anyone. they're allowed to donate them. so they give them to a third world country. they're not saying which country. >> because licenses? >> must be the licenses. >> that's an expensive gamble though. >> they lost. but what third world kun stri going to have all of the new england patriots championship shirts? >> anywhere but the u.s. wherever we travel to, we'll see the shirts everywhere. >> right. >> they'll remind usst fact they didn't win. >> another thing that may remind of us of days of old is this change. >> we don't know yet. >> it's not official? >> right. momentum is building. the point after touchdown, fans of it or not? >> opposed to it. waste of time. >> i like it. >> you like it because of tradition. so roger goodell is saying, hey, they're going to look at whether the point after, the p.a.t. should stay or not. the argument being made by some coaches is, look, it's automatic. >> .1% over the last ten years.

>> the players can get hurt doing it. >> only five have been missed out of 1200. >> still give them the option. >> but still, there is the possibility. exactly. all right. i say keep it as it is. thanks for watching "first look." "way too early" starts right now. are these safeguards perfect? of course not. but at least the president is trying to earn back the trust of the american people by demonstrating a seriousness of purpose. so how do we move these reforms forward? >> i'm hoping working with congress to ensure that we build a broad consensus for how to move forward. >> so we're never doing this. you're going to do this after we get a broad consensus in congress. with you. of how to move forward. well, that sounds great. then perhaps we'll get some well reasoned postgame analysis from

richard sherman. how about that? >> richard sherman's rant after the seahawks beat the 49ers to advance to the super bowl retracted? why the best cornerback in the game is trying to make nicy nice. and jersey's war of words. lieutenant governor firing back allegation that's the state was holding sandy relief funds hostage. will she give that same denial under oath? then what telecom giant wants to offer you a cheap steal? break out those google glasses. this is "way too early." hey there, everybody. good morning. tuesday, january 21st. welcome to "way too early." this is the show where major flight delays means a nice bump in the rating so we'll take it. yeah, as long as you're safe and warm. that's how we want you watching this show. let's get to it. we have a major storm that is rolling up the east coast and anarctic chill which is making