good wednesday morning. right now on "first look," taking action. president obama vows to bypass legislation to expand opportunity for more americans. southern chill. people in the south and midwest blasted by frigid temperatures, forcing some students and teachers to spend the night in their schools. grimm threat. new york congressman michael grimm threatens to throw a reporter from a balcony because of questions? plus, miami dolphins' jonathan martin speaks out for the first time about being bullied in the nfl. super bowl spending to top $12 billion. and actor vin diesel gets down. hello, everybody. thanks for joining us. i'm betty nguyen. president obama is trying to get back on track. last night's state of the union focused on a sluggish economy, inequality and education.

he hits the road today to promote his agenda. nbc's tracie potts is live in washington. tracie, the president seemed pretty fed up with congress and says he is willing to go it alone. >> reporter: and we're going to see some of that today, betty, as he heads to maryland to talk about the minimum wage, pennsylvania to talk about this new retirement bond he pitched last night. a lot of this agenda -- it's a smaller agenda -- a lot of it, the president says, he can get started on his own. >> america does not stand still and neither will i. >> reporter: president obama says he'll act alone to boost the economy, ease regulations to bring jobs back from overseas, build more manufacturing hubs, create retirement savings for workers whose employers don't offer them, and raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour for new federal contractors. he urged business owners and congress to do the same. >> so, join the rest of the country. say yes. give america a raise. >> reporter: but he needs congress to simplify the tax

code, fix immigration, get extended unemployment checks rolling again, and ensure equal pay for women. >> that is wrong. and in 2014, it's an embarrassment. women deserve equal pay for equal work! >> reporter: the president challenged republicans to stop fighting health care. >> tell america what you'd do differently. let's see if the numbers add up. >> reporter: republicans promised more jobs, less red tape and less government. >> we hope the president will join us in a year of real action by empowering people, not by making their lives harder with unprecedented spending, higher taxes and fewer jobs. >> reporter: now, the tea party did its own response to the president's speech last night, saying that the inequalities that he talked about were actually the fault of the government, that it's the government that's leaving poor and middle class families behind. betty? >> tracie, thank you for that report. now to the rare winter blast paralyzing parts of the south. 140 million americans are under

some sort of weather watch or warning. the carolinas, georgia, alabama, louisiana and mississippi are under a state of emergency. and this morning, nearly 1,000 flights are already canceled. the weather forced more than 1,000 kids in alabama and georgia to spend the night at school. there, staff and students had access to meals and blankets. >> we have several major areas of concern because some of the schools had not released their students early enough in the day for them to be able to get home in the normal fashion before the roads became icy and the school buses could not run. >> just a few inches of snow fell in atlanta, but commuters came to a standstill. it took some more than five hours just to get home. the gridlock was so bad, a baby girl was actually delivered along i-285. thankfully, officials describe the birth as flawless. now remember, the south is not used to this type of weather.

many cities don't even have salt trucks or snow plows. in alabama, two people were killed in weather-related accidents. and with as much as a foot of snow expected in parts of the region, many southern officials are asking people to stay off the roads. >> we're not used to this significant ice and sleet and snow that we are experiencing today. >> we're highly recommending that people stay off of the roadways. >> now is not the time to take any unnecessary risk or any unnecessary trips. >> indeed, nbc's bill karins is here with more on the south. they are not joking when they say stay off the roadways. >> yeah, i mean, it doesn't sound like a lot to people in the north, 1 to 2 inches of snow, but the timing was brutal, people don't know how to drive in it and there was a ton of accidents. look at the "atlanta journal-constitution" this morning, talking about being "frozen in place." the roads are almost impasseible. of course, we told you about the kids stuck in the schools, and there's a lot of administrators with a lot of questions to answer about why the kids even

had school in the first place with 2 inches of snow being forecasted in the atlanta area. there were other areas that were just as bad, montgomery, birmingham, alabama, had a lot of problems on the roads, and it's 20s this morning in these areas, where it's 16 in atlanta. so, if the roads weren't salted, they are still a mess out there. right now the worst of the storm has shifted, now into areas of extreme eastern north carolina. raleigh, you're clear, fayetteville, you're clear, but there's a lot of snow coming up through the outer banks. virginia banks still snowing. we've had a light coating of snow in southern new england, snowing pretty good in cape cod. a picture from cape may and southern new jersey around atlantic city -- actually, we just lost that shot, but there are a couple inches of snow there, so southern new england, mid-atlantic, new york city area, be careful, a coating of snow for you. >> it's here. thank you, bill. back to washington now. there were some lighter moments at last night's state of the union address, but this was not one of them. new york congressman michael grimm was being interviewed after the speech. new york 1 reporter michael

scotto asked him about campaign finances and his answer might be the only republican response anyone remembers. >> speaking about anything off topic. this is only about the president's speech. thank you. >> what about -- all right, so, congressman michael grimm does not want to talk about some of the allegations concerning his campaign finances. we wanted to get him on camera on that, but he, as you saw, refused to talk about that. back to you. >> let me be clear to you, you ever do that to me again, [ bleep ]. >> i wanted to ask you -- [ inaudible ] >> why? it's a valid question. [ bleep ] >> you're not man. you're not man. [ inaudible ] >> now, some are pretty shocked by that, but grimm has since released a lengthy statement. in part, he calls the question a cheap shot and says he doubts he's the first member of congress to tell a reporter off

and is sure he won't be the last. well, this person was once the president of egypt, but now a shocking display as mohamed morsi appears in court locked in a sound-proof glass cage. [ shouting in foreign language ] >> the toppled leader shouted at the judge who controlled morsi's microphone. yesterday marked his second public appearance since the military coup that brought him down last july. the 62-year-old is on trial in connection with prison breaks during the 18-day uprising against his predecessor in 2011. morsi already faces other trials on various charges, including inciting the murders of protesters. he could face the death penalty. all right, let's get the latest in sports from my friend, richard lui. good morning, richard. >> good morning, betty. an nbc exclusive. the miami dolphins' jonathan martin talking for the first time about the alleged bullying

by teammate richie incognito. he was on nbc's "football night in america." >> i worked hard with richie incognito and others. i think it's important to build friendships with your teammates. and you know, that was kind of my driving force. i turned the microscope back on myself, what am i doing wrong that i'm being treated like this? what makes me different? and i'm not different from any other football player. >> the team owner also saying tuesday he doesn't think either of those two players will return. okay, the weather's so bad at kentucky's home game, the school closed down, students didn't show up and neither did number 11 kentucky against unranked louisiana state. lsu's johnny o'brien had a season-high 28 points. 87-82 for lsu. to the battle in the big ten, number 15 iowa, number 7 michigan state. tied in this game, closing seconds. iowa misses. into overtime. michigan state escapes with a win here, 71-69. it was media day at super bowl xlviii. quarterbacks peyton manning, russell wilson among those that

were there. some weird questions. the seahawks' russell sherman was asked about strippers and justin bieber. >> what? >> someone even asked if sunday was a must-win game. yes skrks. >> you've get to be kidding me. >> it is. it is! and so is mandatory media day, by the way. yes, marshawn lynch of seattle, you, too. he showed up for only six minutes of the hour-long endeavor. he also faced a $50,000 fine during the regular season for not meeting media obligations. lynch was being maybe here thinking about his skittles deal? you know, he wears those cleats with skittles on them. >> it is a sweet deal. >> well said. there will be a limited edition package of seattle mix with seattle's blue and green colors. should be red, i believe, and gold. so, the super loud seahawks fans are called the 12th man, right? >> mm-hmm. >> well, a seattle couple has now named their daughter cindy lee 12th man. >> no, they didn't. >> well, twelfth is her middle

name, her last name is mann. their parents hope she sets no records for loud noise, until she reaches 2, then they can't stop that. >> the kids are going to tease -- twelfth is her middle name. all right, thank you, richard. the scandal involving america's nuclear launch officers doubles, mexico legalizes vigilantes to fight the drug lords, plus, tens of thousands try to have canadian justin bieber deported. your eyes really are unique. in fact, they depend on a unique set of nutrients. [ male announcer ] that's why there's ocuvite to help protect your eye health.

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now for your "first look" at business, we turn to cnbc's morgan brennan. hey, there, good morning! >> good morning, betty. if you're trying to get into your hotel room, there's an app for that. the "wall street journal" reports starwood is testing a new system that unlocks your door by waving your smartphone over a wireless receiver. such technology is already used in homes but presents a bigger challenge, mainly with security in hotels. meanwhile, the labor department says unemployment fell in 39 states and washington, d.c., last month. it's another sign of broad-based improvement in the economy. 17 states had a jobless rate

below the national rate of 6.7%. and the senate could vote today to delay flood insurance rate increases that would impact thousands of people. the bill would delay premium hikes by up to four years. back to you, betty. >> all right. thank you, morgan. some stories making news this morning. nbc news has learned the number of nuclear missile launch officers under investigation for allegedly cheating has nearly doubled. 34 nuclear officers were originally being investigated for either cheating on exams or not reporting the cheating ring. it's a sign of the times. mexico's government has reversed its stance on vigilantes. they will now use them in the fight against drug cartels. these armed civilian groups, around 20,000 men, will be part of the government's rural defense corps. and oregon county's emergency dispatch unit is so fed up with nonemergency 911 calls, they started a social media campaign named "you call 911 for that?" it will expose the week's most ridiculous nuisance calls. so, what's this week's?

a man actually called 911 because his debit card wasn't working. unfortunately, we're not joking about that. and a new petition has surfaced on the white house website that calls for the deportation of justin bieber following his alleged dui and drag racing incident last week. can you believe this? the petition describes bieber as dangerous, reckless and destructive. it's less than 2,000 signatures away from reaching its goal. super bowl spending will top $12 billion this year as americans shell out for grub, gear and televisions. that's according to the national retail federation. they're also warning consumers to beware of online deals for jerseys that seem too good to be true because they probably are. straight ahead, senator lindsey graham's ducky state of the union guest. and apparently, the d.o.t.'s classes on what not to say to keep republicans from putting their foots in their mouths did not get to michael grimm. ♪

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caught flack for recent homophobic and racist remarks, was the guest of louisiana congressman vance mcallister. in texas, republicans are pouncing on democrat wendy davis. lieutenant governor david dewhurst, who's running for re-election, says the democrat's star power is just a creation of backroom politics. >> quite frankly, barack obama and the democrats created wendy davis. when you look at the results, protecting women's health and the life of the unborn, one. wendy davis, zero. wendy davis is going to go down faster than she went up when greg evans beats her in november. >> the lieutenant governor was also asked about allegations he abused power when he called to try and get a family member out of jail. he dismissed that notion, saying he was just doing what he thought every man should do. as for wendy davis, she is pushing back against criticism she twisted facts about her biography. she now says she is drawing with the line with critics who are

"lying" about her family. and the denver broncos aren't just the nfl's highest scoring team. employees for the franchise also have given more money to federal politicians than super bowl rival seattle seahawks. the team's owners, employees and the relatives have donated at least $84,000 since january 2011, nearly twice as much as seattle. and that's your morning dish of "scrambled politics." joining me for our "first look" at politics, senior washington correspondent for politico, anna palmer. good morning, anna. >> good morning! >> i do want to talk to you about the state of the union, but there is this thing that happened after it that is quite shocking. new york congressman michael grimm was asked about an investigation into his campaign finances. now, he refused to comment about that, but then he came back and said, "let me be clear to you," to this reporter, "if you do that to me again, i will throw you off this balcony." he went on to say, "i'll break you in half like a boy." you know, anna, not only is that shocking, but what's so ironic about it is, it comes on the

heels of the gop's sessions aimed at teaching candidates what not to say! >> it certainly was one of the most explosive reactions to the state of the union in the aftermath where all the reporters are asking members that i've ever seen, but certainly, this is not kind of in the actual substance of this. this is not what republicans want to be focused on the day after the state of the union. they want to be drawing kind of clear, decisive differences between where democrats are and where republicans are, not on a, you know, almost potential altercation with one of their members of congress. >> you know people are going to be talking, and grimm since released a lengthy statement, calling the question a cheap shot, and he says he doubts he's the first member of congress to tell a reporter off. but here's my question to you, could grimm face political, maybe even criminal repercussions from threatening a reporter like that? >> well, i think as a reporter, you know, being dressed down by a member of congress is not necessarily shocking, but what was really the case here is the fact that it was caught on camera and that he didn't, you know, kind of go away from it or

shy away from it all i think is something where this is a day, maybe two stories, but it won't have legs where i can imagine there will be official prosecution. >> quickly back to the state of the union. the president seemed to call for action with or without congress. will that change any of the gridlock? >> i think we saw obama saying i'll try to do these things, but in actuality, they were small and republican reaction was swift. there were many members after the speech who said obama overstepped, so i think gridlock will be something that will continue. >> anna, thank you for your insight. we appreciate it. >> thanks. "first buzz" is up next. we'll tell you about zewe neined and a man who gives new meaning to the term tough guy. first, check out this tough guy. actor vin diesel was apparently bored and decided to post a video of himself dancing to some beyonce and katy perry. the black-and-white video has over 740,000 facebook likes. it's hip-hop.

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guess who pulled into port. here's the story. >> good morning and welcome back. a cruise ship will be returning to port early after more than 600 people fell ill from a possible norovirus. the passengers and crew said they are just happy to be off the ship. the cdc says the cause of the outbreak is currently unknown. >> now, of course, that wasn't a story we aired, although i love how they change our voices when they do that. they mimic it right to -- speaking of a tax, we talked about one earlier. >> self-defense. >> a possible one. and this is a real-life one. >> yeah, this is one of the light moments of yesterday's southern snowstorm. a lot of people know who jim

cantore is from the weather channel. >> that is to come -- >> boom, right there. >> defending himself in a live shot. this college student tried to video-bomb him and he got bombed below the belt. >> it is so perfect. >> he kind of looked over and then he didn't look over. see how he did that? >> most people would reach their hand out to push him away. >> he happened to do this miyage move. >> i was standing next to jim cantore in the storm and i can absolutely believe him doing that. he does push-ups on the air, he does. >> that's why he wasn't sure, decided to knee him where it hurts. okay, on to our team of attacks here, a guy in australia, new zealand, in fact, was being attacked by a shark. so, what's he do? he fights him off, he stabs him, and then, he obviously gets bitten there, but what did he do after that? he actually went down to the bar and got a pint of beer. >> nice. >> yes, that's what you do after you survive a shark attack. >> needed to sterilize himself. >> you may need more than one. we're just saying a beer.

and if you do need beer, you're talking about what you shouldn't do after a beer. >> maybe after a couple beers, you should do this to beer. this is a viral video of one individual taking some beautiful new castle brown ale, throwing it into a frying pan. >> mm-hmm. >> now, look what happens. it turns into this little goo. it looks like it's floating, right? >> right. >> it's because of something called the leaden frost effect. >> are you making that up? >> i'm not making it up. what happens is, basically, it's floating on vapor. the pan has to be a certain temperature. i don't know what that temperature has to be. >> you would think it would boil away. >> because some people do cook with beer, so -- >> well, if you do this with water and you hit the right temperature on your pan, you'll get the same effect. >> oh, i see. >> see, when i do hot dogs, i do it in beer. gives it a little extra taste. i'm serious. i've done it before. try it. >> a lot of people cook with beer, indeed, but i've never seen that with beer. >> don't waste a good one. >> make sure it's a lower quality beer if you do that?

>> yeah. >> we had quite the transition today, went from being attacked, shark attack to beer. >> then attacking beer, apparently. >> way to work together, team! >> that's how beer fights back, apparently. i'm betty nguyen and this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned. "way too early" starts right now. on his tenth deployment, cory was nearly killed by a massive roadside bomb in afghanistan. his comrades found him in a canal face down, under water, shrapnel in his brain. for months, he lay in a coma, but slowly, steadily, with the support of caregivers like his dad, craig, and the community around him, cory has grown stronger. cory is here tonight. and like the army he loves, like the america he serves, sergeant 1st class cory ramsberg never

gives up and he does not quit. [ cheers and applause ] cory. >> an emotional moment from last night's state of the union address, bringing the gallery to its feet, a standing ovation as the president honors one of america's wounded warriors, reminding all of us we are a country that never quits. but is the president at his wit's end with congressional obstruction? the pointed message to the hill and the president's plan to use the power of the pen to increase american pay. and americans, consider the trifecta response from republicans. messages from congresswoman cathy mcmorris rodgers, senator mike lee and senator rand paul. place your bets now, because this is "way too early." hey, everybody. we did it, it's hump day. i'm as