happy new year. coming up on "first look," revelers the world over said good riddance to the past and welcomed 2015 with optimism and excitement. and then more victims of air asia flight 8501 are found and searchers battle the elements, looking for clues. plus, dramatic new video of that frightening ferry fire, and a wild dust devil stirring up trouble at the rose bowl. and if you can believe it, snow in san diego, california. and a look at some of the biggest names we lost in 2014. good morning to you. i'm frances rivera. whether you are up early or

never went to bed, happy new year's to you. welcome to the start of 2015 around the globe. wlnk

>> happy new year from the international space station. >> what a night. even the space station crew celebrated new year's, 16 times. that's how many times they passed over parts of the planet at midnight. now in pasadena, california, freak winds called a dust devil outside the rose bowl sent cows, a fan, and a bouncy house flying. take a look. >> unbelievable. all that flying debris left four people hurt, but nothing serious. at first, people thought it was a tornado, but the national weather service says it is officially called a cold dust devil. that's when cold air lifts and intensifies winds in an area. bad weather in the java sea is getting worse, extending an agonizingly grim search for bodies. and the pain no more apparent than on family's faces of the 62 souls on board that air asia jet that crashed near indonesia. this morning, seven bodies have been recovered and among them, four men, three women, including a flight attendant still in her uniform. their remains are slowly being shuttled away in white coffins

marked by flowers and numbers. the black box flight recorders still have not been found. overnight, china's president launched an immediate investigation into the cause of a deadly new year's eve stampede. their government says as many as 35 are dead and 45 injured. it all happened shortly before midnight. local media says people were scrambling for coupons that looked like dollar bills thrown out of a third floor window. at a nearby hospital, relatives tried to push past security guards into an emergency area to see their loved ones. last week, a shanghai newspaper reported about 300,000 people were expected at their new year's eve countdown. well, stores across the country have been busy post-christmas and one walmart in florida had an unusual guest yesterday. a hawk swooped into the store near brighton, florida, there. it was flying around several of the hours. a wildlife rescue worker had to be called in to remove the hawk both for the bird's and the shoppers' safety. >> i was glad that we got him out of there, because he is very emaciated. i'm going to feed him up, let him stuff himself, let him go.

>> the worker caught the bird using a trap with a live mouse. the hawk will be returned to the wild once it is healthy. now, turning to sports this morning, we begin with the orange bowl on this new year's day. eighth-ranked mississippi state took on number ten, georgia tech. >> he launches it towards the end zone, dives for a touchdown! >> an incredible hail mary touchdown for mississippi state to close out the half, trailing by only one, but georgia tech's qb, justin thomas, packed a final punch. he ran for 121 yards, three touchdowns and threw for 125 yards and a score to lead the yellow jackets to 39-49 victory. next to arizona for the fiesta bowl at boise state jay ayahe

ran to carry the 21st ranked broncos past 12th ranked arizona, 38-30. and over in atlanta for the peach bowl, tcu crushed mississippi 42-3, maybe some leftover anger after being snubbed by the college football playoff committee last month. what do you think? and it is finally here. the new 14 college playoff semifinal games and some fans are getting creative. for example, look at this nice gesture. oregon has sent customized jerseys to some of their high-profile fans with their twitter handles on back. and in ohio, prepare for cuteness overload. how about newborn babies being wrapped in red baby blankets that say "beat alabama." although i think they'd rather sleep.

where it physically hurts to watch. posted on youtube earlier this week, watch here. that cyclist going 50 miles an hour, then that. he hits an aluminum post and then he face planted right on to the road. you can imagine, he will feel that the next morning. now in the news this morning, dramatic video taken by one of the passengers aboard that greek ferry that caught fire earlier this week in the adriatic sea. most passengers were waiting to be rescued as smoke billowed from below deck. president obama reportedly rung in the new year with friends, well into his second

week of vacation in hawaii. he also played more golf, and as noted by white house reporter mark nolor, mr. obama played 54 rounds of golf in 2014 and a total of 214 rounds of golf since taking office. you're watching "first look" on this new year's day.

the last day of 2014 brought abnormally cold temperatures and snow to san diego, california. about a foot of snow was measured there in the mountains you areas, as many drivers were reporting icy spots on freeways. viewers were sending in pictures of the snowy palm trees to nbc san diego. and now for a look at the weather elsewhere across the country, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. i don't know about the flamingos with the snow. >> it makes for beautiful pictures, though. they ended up with more snow in some areas of southern california than chicago in december. new york city only had an inch. d.c. had none. so it was an interesting december to say the least.

happy new year to you, everyone out there. this morning, if you're going to be out early today, careful in west and central texas. a crunchy ice in an lina, 21. now ft. worth and dallas have just dropped down to 32 degrees. there is some freezing rain and freezing drizzle out there. very careful out there. even the front walk as you head out the front door could have a glaze of ice on it. that's all associated with the storm system here, that will bring you rain in areas of west texas, oklahoma, all the way down through areas of arkansas and louisiana over the next couple of days. as far as the temperatures go, 75% of the lower 48 is below freezing, while one area has really warmed up. that's in the northern plains. yesterday was brutal. today is actually bearable. over the next seven days, frances will watch another cold outbreak coming down on sunday in the northern plains. it gets to the great lakes

nbc's mark barger takes a look at some of those we've come to know and love. >> but seek no haven in my shadow. >> maya angelou cast a long shadow, as a revered voice for civil rights and against social injustice. her best-selling memoir, "i know

why the caged bird sings" recounted the racism of her childhood. circumstances she overcame to become a renowned literary talent and educator. maybe the biggest child star ever, shirley temple made america smile during the great depression. he sang and danced her way through more than 50 films before she was 12. and as an adult, served as a u.s. ambassador. >> i'm going to write a show for us and put it on right here. >> the 1930s also saw mickey rooney become america's most famous teenager. more than a dozen films playing andy hardy highlighted a career that spanned radio, tv, and broadway, with a longevity few performers could match. >> you just put your lips together and blow. >> lauren becall brought a smoldering sizzle to hollywood's golden age. magic onscreen and off with humphrey bogart, she built an acting legacy with an hon require oscar and two tony awards. oscars also smiled on phillip seymore hoffman. his title role in "capote" in a most striking example out of an actor able to disappear in the myriad of characters he played

in a career that ended all too soon. >> and the countdown continues. >> his voice was unmistakable, and for decades, casey kasem made american top 40 a weekend fixture for generations of radio listeners around the world. newspaper editors aren't by nature famous, but ben bradley was. he guided two "washington post" reporters through the watergate cover-up that brought down a president and was immortalized in "all the president's men." >> quiet. somebody going to go on the record in this story. >> reporter: james brady literally took a bullet for president ronald reagan in 1981, but the white house press secretary survived and overcame physical limitations to become a crusader against gun violence and champion the brady bill into law. ariel sharon was the symbol of israel's iron fist. he was a soldier during his country's fight for independence and later become a brutal yet brilliant general and eventually served as the country's 11th prime minister. "the graduate" was his master piece, but film director mike

nichols was just one of a dozen people to win an emmy grammy, oscar, and tony award. playing private eye jim rockford made james garner a tv legend, but he also found big screen success in an oscar nomination along the way. before there was "saturday night live," there was your show of shows. ben cesar made live sketch comedy a weekly tv event in the 1950s. not everyone loved joan rivers and her caustic humor, but many did, and she blazed a trail for female comedians, becoming the first woman to host a late-night talk show. that's before she started the policing of celebrity fashions. one of a kind is a phrase often said, but rarely as fitting as it was for robin williams. graced with a comic mind that worked at lightning speed, he brought laughter to millions, but his dramatic talents also moved audiences to tears. >> you don't know about real

love, because it only occurs when you love something more than you love yourself. >> more than a few were shed at williams' sudden passing, but the legacy he leaves behind will leave smiles for years to come. mark barger, nbc news. still ahead, the top political videos of 2014 and the supreme court finally joins the 21st century. and bob franken joins us with his 2015 political predictions, that's next.

new year new edition of scrambled politics to kick off your 2015. and it seems all but certain now, from "the washington post," with eye on 2016, jeb bush resigns from all boards. late last night, his office said the former florida governor had resigned from all his corporate and nonprofit board memberships. that includes his own education foundation. the obama presidential library just had to be in chicago, right? well, maybe not. according to the "chicago sun-times," the barack obama foundation is having problems with bids from the university of chicago and the university of illinois at chicago. so right now, columbia university in new york is the current front-runner. iowa's incoming top election officials expect online voter registration to be ready for the 2016 presidential contest. you'll still need a state-issued i.d., though.

dvd player. and the most run videos in 2015. in third place, the brilliant former health care adviser, john st. gruber, who lamented the stupidity of american voter and his exchange with congressman trey gowdy. >> your defense is that you're not a politician. the lack of transparency is a

huge political advantage. what is a non-politician to do in talking about political advantages? >> a non-politician is talking about political advantages by trying to make himself seem smarter by conjecture. >> so you're a professor at m.i.t. and worried about not looking smart enough? >> yes. >> the second place, the now-famous moment when two political analyst brothers got an on-air call from their mother. >> you're right i'm from down south. >> oh, god, mom. >> and i'm your mother. and i disagree that all families are like ours. >> classic. and at first, by far, seth rogen testifying on the exact of alzheimer's disease in the united states. it was an impassioned speech, but he lightened the mood beforehand. >> i don't know if you know who i am at all. you told me you never saw "knocked up," chairman, so a little insulting.

>> i'll wager this is the first time anytime in congressional history that the words "knocked up" have been used. >> that's your morning dish of scrambled politics. what better way to start off a new year than by bob franken. >> i'm assuming you partied the night away. >> i don't know what gives you that assumption. >> well, you know how things are in the newsroom. >> of course, absolutely with my team here. let's get started with the 2015 crystal ball that i know you have handy right there. why don't you look into that crystal ball and fill us in on what you can anticipate for 2015, starting with bipartisan going nowhere. >> that's right. bipartisanship is probably something that people like to talk about, as we've seen but it's not going to be a reality in 2015 because 2015 is really

just pre-2016, which is the presidential campaign. and everything will be geared toward that. >> right. on to number two here, the tensions between police and minorities that have captivated, really, much of 2014, especially the end. that will stick around? >> well, apparently that is something that has been with us so long, and is such a part of our culture, that perhaps the best that we can hope is that there is a bit of a truce declared and people will at least continue to be just weary as opposed to the current situation, where there is really hostility that is very, very obvious. >> what do you think with so many of the protests still going around. i think in this new year, we'll continue to use this protest. the funeral of officer wenjian liu is still around the corner. we might see that as well. how will that happen with so much around the corner and so much of that tension. what can tangibly happen to breach that divide? >> i think there are efforts underway by people like the head of the commission, the white house commission, who

commissioner ramsey of philadelphia, who, by the way, is african-american, to somehow bridge the gap to at least create an understanding of the two cultures. there is a police culture. and certainly, there is a minority belief that, in fact, the police target them. >> right. let's move on to number three now, where you say the economy will continue to grow. may not necessarily mean the best for all of us or more zeros in our bank account, but it's going to make the rich even wealthier. >> well, that is a problem in the united states. we have this total inequality, where the rich control almost all of the wealth, and everybody else has the bread crumbs that are left. and the economy continues to grow and it grows upward. >> would love to see that trickle down to us common folk. >> so you're dabbling in some sports and entertainment too. you're predicting the washington nationals will win the world series? >> i mean, that is so obvious. any baseball fan realizes that

the nationals, this is going to be their year. so, you know, the rest of the teams probably have to show up, because their athletes have to be paid. but washington nationals a lock for the world series. >> love it. and you've got your oscar wins and who's not going to win any academy award this year. >> this is a tough one, because -- by the way, did you see this? i did. and decided that even though it is probably, it's juvenile, it is crude, it is coarse, and i loved it, it is probably not going to win the academy award. i understand that this is a dangerous conviction, but you heard it here first. >> and you've got bob franken talking about it. thank you for being with us. happy new year. >> happy new year, frances. now to some entertainment news. ♪ ♪ it's 9:00 on a saturday ♪

>> pretty good. house of cards star "kevin spacey" joins billy joel on stay. he can play. remember gwyneth paltrow and chris martin split up or said that they would, quote, consciously uncouple. well paltrow reveals that there have been times where she's wondered if she made the right choice. she went on to say, quote, there are times when i think it would have been better if we'd stayed married. but she went on to say the two now have a solid friendship and even live close to one another. and singing superstar taylor swift ended the year on a high note. she not only held the number one spot on the charts with her album 1989 for seven weeks, but after selling over 3.6 million

copies, it has become the number one album for 2014, beating out the soundtrack from "frozen" by a few thousand copies. i know this is a controversy, who reigns in my household, taylor swift or "frozen." >> i told you yesterday, i'm a little bit of a fixer upper. >> i would agree with that. happy new year, fixer upper. and happy new year to you. i'm frances rivera. this is "first look" on msnbc. thanks so much for watching and happy new year to all of you.

welcome to a special holiday edition of "morning joe." today we want to look at one of the most divisive men in american history. richard nixon. >> while the watergate stain scandal remains on the white house, they debate richard nixon's positive legacy. pat buchanan and douglas brinkley brinkley join us. if pat buchanan had his way, you never would have been able to write that book because he said