skills, just cut, stitch and iron and you can make a baby marsupial very happy. help in the form of a cotton pouch, plus a baby kangaroo in a home made pouch. up next, "first look." good morning everybody. right now on "first look," home grown terror if america, a plot to blow up the capital and much more stopped dead in its tracks. the french step up the crackdown on het speech. former president bill clinton speaks on muslims. incredible welcome for pope francis as he arrives in the philippines. and one of the most amazing free climbs ever achieved by any human being. good morning and thanks so much form joining us. i'm betty nguyen. terror plot stopped. the feds stop an isis want to be's plan. an ohio man wanted to unleash an all-out assault on the u.s.

capital. jurisdiction tis correspondent pete williams reports. >> reporter: christopher lee cornell of ohio wanted to set off pipe bombs of the u.s. capitol and shoot people as they left. he came to their attention last august when he posted messages on twitter. court documents say he discussed his plans with the man he thought was sympathetic but who turned out to be working undercover for the fbi. according to investigators, cornell said former al qaeda figure an wah al awlaki expressed the view that this was the right thing to do. he was arrested after buying two assault-type rivals and 600 rounds of ammunition. >> spent enough time with these particular officers that i was in good hands, they knew what they were doing and they exuded a lot of confidence. >> that was nbc justice correspondent pete williams. the fbi says there was never any danger since cornell was being watched.

he also never built any pipe bombs. this morning here is what cornell's father is saying. >> he never showed any, any signs of any kind of violence or anything. quiet, shy, good kid. >> there have been no comments from his public defender. his first court appearance is tomorrow. secretary of state john kerry will arrive in paris this morning, taking part on talks on encountering extremist violence. the "charlie hebdo" magazine sold out 3 million copies within first two hours yesterday. a copy on the european version of e boy sold for $117,000. now the publication of the prophet muhammad on its cover, 54 people were arrested for comments making anti-semitic

threats. some are worried tensions could get worse. >> more more more provocation. why are you talking about my prophet? why are you talking about this guy? >> i think it will bring a civil war. a sive war is coming. >> in turkey this protester purposed a publication that published the "charlie hebdo" cartoons. the taliban is the latest to criticize the cartoon. >> i agree muslim leaders have to do more to combat the extremists, but i don't think you can blame the religion. i think the fact that the palestinian president, mr. abbas, came and marched in that par made was a big deal and was willing to do it with the israeli prime minister with all their deep political differences. >> now in an effort to combat

extremists overseas france sending this aircraft carrier to the middle east to fight isis. also this morning, an opinion ed written by david cameron and president obama in "the times" saying we won't let the voice of freedom be muzzled. nbc's ron allen is in paris for us this morning. ron, is there a sense that this morning the city is on the verge of seeing heightened tngs because of the "charlie hebdo" publication? >> reporter: there is certainly a lot of tension betty. some 2 million more copies of the magazine being distributed here and around the country. it was published in some 16 different languages. there are many verngs versions, some in arabic turkish, english. some available online as well. you can't find a copy because people want to be part of this

phenomenon. people want this magazine to show support and solidarity for the victims. the funerals for several of them, something else the country will be focused in. there are donations pouring in to the magazine "charlie hebdo," some 12ds million, about 120,000 new subscriptions, a subscription-based magazine. there is more support. there is a lot of criticism from the muslim world about the publication of this news magazine especially the image of mohamud on its cover. people saying it's so provocative, insulting. even though there's freedom of speech there should be limits to this, especially at a time when authorities are cracking down on hate speech and rounding up people as many as 54 people accused of inciting terrorism showing support for terrorism. several of them jailed. and that continues. we also heard of a number of incidents in schools, as many as 200 incidents in schools here insults, fights between students over all of this.

meanwhile the investigation continues. in particular, authorities are trying to track down this claim by al qaeda in the arabian peninsula that it's responsible for the attack. some doubts being expressed about that. also still trying to track down all the accomplices who might have played a role in assisting the gunman who carried out those bloody massacres. back to you, betty. >> a lot goings-on in this active investigation. ron, thank you for that every port. back in the u.s. the cliff-hanger, it's over. a pair of americans have climbed their way into history. this image says it all. tommy caldwell and kevin jorgensen reaching the top of el capitan on wednesday. they are the first to ever free climb it using only their hands and feet. over 19 days. a 3,000 foot wall in yosemite is one of the hardest rock climbs in the world. congratulations to them. also this morning, pope francis is in the fim peeps. want to give you a live look at the red carpet welcome for the

pontiff whose plane just touched down. the stop is part of his trip to asia. a z you can imagine, security is tight. nearly 40,000 soldiers and police are being used. some are reported to be wearing diapers to control the large crowds. 6 million people are expected to attend the mass by the pope. let's get down to business with landon dowdy. president obama will call on congress to pass a measure to offer employees up to seven days sick leave a year. he'll also take executive action to ensure federal government workers get six weeks paid leave after the birth or adoption of a child. the markets will try to break a four-day losing streak. the dow was down as much as 349 points but slashed losses by the close. oil prices rallied posting their

best day since 2012. look for earnings from bank of america and citigroup. the future of sports stadiums is here. now the atlanta falcons are showing an animated video of one the team's new $1.2 million stadium will look like when it opens in 2017. a retractable roof and 360-degree video board. >> that is just incredible. speaking of sports. let's get to frances rivera. >> fun to see all the highlights on the board. let's start with the nba. there's flopping and then there's this. hornet's guard p.j. hairston gets dramatic with this flop against tony parker. >> he almost goes airborne. >> barely brushes against hairston with his shoulder. off he goes. the furs go on to win it. >> the bucs and knicks prep. earlier carmelo anthony met with

prince harry at a charity reception. anthony presented the prince with knicks shoes and a jersey. prosecutors in indianapolis filed charges against colts linebacker jock mcnary for attacking a woman in his apartment in december. he's charged with rape criminal confinement and battery resulting in bodily injury. new nfl head coaches, the 49ers promoted long time defensive line coach jim tom sewell la and the raiders hired broncos defensive coordinator jack del rio. broncos, falcons and bears are still searching for new coaches. marcus mariota is entering the nfl draft, he declared just days after falling to ohio state in the national championship game. manny pacquiao has agreed to terms for a bout with floyd mayweather. there's a little problem. mayweather hasn't given his approval yet in what would be

boxing's richest fight ever an astonishing $120 million payday. tentative date is set for may 2nd at the mgm in vegas. >> thank you, francis. a major shakeup to tell you about the u.s. secret service. the agency is removing four high level officials from their positions and reassigning them. acting director joe chancey said change is necessary to gain a fresh perspective on how we conduct business. the agency is trying to come back from a series of security lapses. among them agents getting caught with prostitutes in 2012 and a fence jumper making it all the way inside the white house. frmths ten minutes past the hour. you're watching "first look."

take a like at this storm, it stretches from the united states to europe on the right. winds have been so strong recent flights from new york to london arrived an hour earlier than usual. let's look at this weather outside. meteorologist bill karins is here for that. the jet stream was amazingly strong over the atlantic. it doesn't affect us in the lower 48. what we're dealing with is a camp quiet day. little rain for you this morning. louisiana, mississippi if you're in alabama, grab your umbrella. in georgia, the pacific northwest a little rain. my friends in boston a little freezing drizzle overnight. we're about halfway through what i call my winter. i consider the winter months december january and february. right now 48 mrs of the country has snow on the ground but not very deep. we haven't had a lot of big snow e storms. we have a bunch of cities typically have a lot of snow

now a pretty good deficit. syracuse has a 20-inch deficit, hartford, pittsburgh, philadelphia, vcht a big snowstorm. if we're going to get one, it doesn't look like this next one. rainy sunday followed by en tear your snow on monday morning. >> brace ourselves for that. we do have stories making news today. officials in philadelphia are going to once again try to shut off a water main after it broke sending water 200 neat into the air. it happened last night, freezing temperatures and the location of that main made it hard for workers to shut i off. a 24-year-old las vegas dancer is trying to get the lapd to look into her claim that bill cosby drugged and may have sexually assaulted her back in 2008. she said it happened at the playboy mansion when she was 18. no word yet from cosby's lawyers. some two dozen women have come forward with allegations that cosby sexually assaulted them some while drugged.

cosby has never been charged with a crime. through his attorneys he has denied all allegations. to philadelphia, firefighters worked through the night to put out an aggressive fire in this 14-year-old prison. it was a loss. inmates and staff are being transferred to nearby prisons. there were no reported injuries. it could be the diet breakthrough. listen up. scientists are working on a new diet pill that will trick your body into thinking that you have already eaten, and not only that, the pill will burn the excess fat from the food that you have eaten. that's quite fascinating. in the meantime obama feeling the love and jimmy fallon's hilarious take on the gop field. scrambled politics is next.e buttons equal danger. ...that sound good? not being on this phone call sounds good. it's not muted. was that you jason? it was geoffrey! it was jason. it could've been brenda. your mom's got your back.

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at ally bank no branches equals great rates. it's a fact. kind of like mute buttons equal danger. ...that sound good? not being on this phone call sounds good. it's not muted. was that you jason? it was geoffrey! it was jason. it could've been brenda. yesterday senate majority leader mitch mcconnell was asked about what he thinks about mitt romney joining a crowded field of potential republican nominees. he said, quote, the more the herier. that's not actually all he had to say. take a look. when told donald trump might run, he said the more the hairier. when he was told rick scott might run, he said the more the scarier. when told rick perry might run, the more the perry-er. when told kim kardashian write run, he said the more the

dairyer. >> scrambled politics is right now. five days ahead of his state of the union, president obama's approval is on the rise. a new poll shows he's up five points standing at 47 pfrs. for perspective george w. bush was at 33% at roughly the same point in his presidency. win reason for those rising numbers, as say say, it is the economy, stupid. pew says 27% of economic conditions are good. the gop is coming down hard on rnc, sen surring one of its members and asking him to step down. talking about michigan republican dave ajima. he says he isn't ratest. a year ago he refused to resign when he made comments about muslims and gays. the rnc national convention

will start on july 18 two months earlier than 2008. the hope is to spend less time bickering within the party and more time fund-raising around one candidate. could that candidate be mitt romney? two fellow republicans hope not. sarah palin told inside edition, quote, we need new energy we need new blood, we need new ideas. speaking to the new hampshire journal, kentucky senator rand paul equated a possible mit campaign to einstein's definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. on late night with seth meyers, bill clinton was asked about how golf can get presidents in trouble. he said everyone needs a release and you can actually get a lot done. >> you always have global communication. i have a lot of international phone calls on golf courses. >> were you ever in the middle of a bad game and you faked an international call say you had

to go? >> you're just smarter than i am. that never occurred to me. where were you when i needed you. >> i was going to say, that's a great tactic. that's your morning dish of scrambled politics. so i am joined by syndicated columnist bob franken. good morning. >> you mean sarah palin is not going to support mitt romney? i'm stunned. >> right. big surprise. with mitt romney and jeb bush in competition possibly for big donors in fund-raisers could this squeeze chris christie out of the gop nomination next year? >> i don't think chris christie would think so. he is going to be in the sweepstakes for what we call the moderate republican money which, of course always begs the question, are the rest of them i'm moderate. chris christie of course is devastated because his dallas cowboys lost. >> and so am i. >> you are, are you? >> i'm a texas girl come on. >> i live in washington so we

probably shouldn't discuss this. >> probably not. >> in any case i suspect chris christie is going to be very aggressive in trying to encounter both bush and romney. >> absolutely. we heard some of the republican backlash for another run by romney. you talked about sarah palin. but running actually help democratic candidates by creating deep divides within the gop? >> well there are divides within the gop. let us not forget there are divides within the democratic party with people who are personified by elizabeth warren suggesting perhaps hillary clinton is too cozy with wall street and is not progressive enough. this is something that happens in both parties when you get to this stage of a presidential campaign. >> it's going to get interesting as we get closer no doubt. in mean time a big gop retreat coming up this weekend. how will they unify? bob, who is really leading the republicans? >> well, that's a good question. i suspect mitch mcconnell and john boehner probably feel like

they're herding cats. right now you have very distinct camps in the republican party. they're still trying to decide if they can somehow reconcile and present a united front as they approach the primary season. >> that's going to be interesting to see how they do it. a lot on the table with this weekend retreat, wouldn't you say? >> there is a lot. first of all, they're going to have to come to some sort of consensus on how they handle immigration. the house of representatives fired quite a shot yesterday. this is early in the game. they have their work cut out for them. first of all they're going to have to decide who is going to speak for the party. right now that's mitch mcconnell who is saying the more the herier when it comes to presidential candidates when it comes to senate torsion rising up against him, i'm sure he would say the less the merrier. >> bob, thanks for joining us. we appreciate it. still ahead, talk show host ellen degeneres is setting the record straight. stay with us.

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28 minutes past the hour. let's get you some entertainment news. yesterday ellen degeneres took time to respond to a recent allegation she's using her show to influence young girls and push a gay agenda. >> larry, i don't even know what it means to celebrate my lesbianism. i guess i do. it's like that. there. i'm gay! larry, the only way i'm trying to influence people is to be more kind and compassionate with one another. that's the message i'm sending out. i don't have an agenda. i'm not here to brainwash anyone, but i want you to live your lives being exactly who you are. >> i think that's a perfect response.

the allegation came from a pastor. >> how else can you answer it without humor, it's so ridiculous. >> i love the celebration. >> it's ellen. >> i'm betty nguyen. this is "first look" on msnbc. "way too early" with thomas roberts starts right now. a little shy, but talkative. nothing really out of the ordinary about him at all. >> he may have been ordinary but wait until you hear the extraordinary details of his territory plot. how an ohio man was caught planning an attack on the u.s. capitol. after major breaches drastic changes for the secret service in the wake of white house high-profile security lapses. we have them for you. mission accomplished two climbers reaching the summit of el capitan after a 19-day 3,000-foot journey straight up into the air.

we'll have their reaction for you. this is "way too early." hey everybody. good morning. i'm thomas roberts. it is thursday january 15th. welcome to wait wait the show that feels mission accomplished when we say. >> good morning! >> good morning. we have several different languages. so we are very accomplished today. it is great to have you with us. we want to get straight to our top story this morning. we begin on capitol hill where there are new concerns about home grown tafr richl after authorities say they thwarted a terror plot against one of the country's most iconic buildings. an ohio man is facing charges for allegedly plotting a military-style attack on the capitol. officials say he was inspired by islamic state militants and anwar al al lack ka ki. this is the man in custody,