ast the days of racial violence, even on a grand and terrible scale. but neither are we lost in the days that racial violence inevitably went unprosecuted and unpunished. "first look" is up next. good morning everybody. right know on "first look" tonight is the night. the president will deliver his state of the union address. could a bump in the polls help his case? deflate gate. 12 days to the super bowl. and the nfl is looking into one team who might have had extra help getting there. and a tractor-trailer speeds toward a car with nowhere to go. good morning, everybody. i'm betty nguyen. thank you for joining us today. so tonight, president obama will deliver his state of the union address. he's unveiled several major talking points which include more spending on the middle class and poor, along with the tax increase for the rich. nbc's tracie potts is live in washington following all of this. so what can we expect to hear from the president tonight?

>> reporter: well, you can expect a lot about things that he's already been on the road talking about, plus a lot about taxes too. betty, he's going into this with a bit of a bump. our new nbc news/"wall street journal" poll gives him a bump and as for americans who are satisfied with the economy it is still less than half, but the highest number we have seen in more than a decade. >> our job now is to make sure that every american feels they're a part of our country's comeback. >> reporter: tonight in the first lady's box, a cross-section of the americans that the president is targeting. a woman had surgery on a brain tumor, thanks to obamacare. >> i remember laying there and just thinking, wow, i'm just really grateful and blessed that i had insurance. >> reporter: carolyn reed, a government loan helped her expand the business. >> now we have seven stores and we have over 100 employees, and so things have worked out very

well for us. >> reporter: tonight president obama will urge congress to cut taxes for the middle class, and get rid of tax breaks that allow the wealthy to shield millions by giving money to their kids. >> even republicans acknowledge that that loophole ought to be closed. >> reporter: but the president's tax plan isn't likely to go far in this congress. >> i think the president's plan to raise taxes is dead on arrival in this congress. it won't work. it will cost us jobs. >> reporter: jobs and personal wealth still a big concern. our nbc news/"wall street journal" poll said americans are optimistic and their open financial situations are getting better. by most people say it's about the same. >> thanks. our coverage starts tonight at 8:00 p.m. rachel maddow will be joined by chris matthews and many more and

they'll be reacting to what the president has to say. we want to hear from you. on instagram, twitter, facebook and vine. what do you think the state of the union is? tell us with the hash tag, sotus. and deflate gate after the rout over the indianapolis colts in the rain-soaked afc championship game, a big question -- did the new england patriots have help? were they cheating? the nfl is looking into whether they used deflated balls, making it easier to grip and catch especially in the rain. nbc sport's mike florio said several balls were removed for being underinflated. yesterday, quarterback tom brady laughed off the accusations. >> did you get the sense that you were able to grip the ball better than the colts last night? [ laughter ] would you care to weigh in on that? >> i think i heard it all at this point. >> now, the patriots are no strangers to controversy like

this. back in 2007 as many of you may remember, coach bill belichick was fined half a million dollars and his team $250,000 for videotaping an opponent's signals during a game. as for this investigation, belichick says they will cooperate fully. breaking overnight, a deadly bridge collapse in cincinnati. take a look at this, it happened along south i-75. a semi hit a sagging part of an overpass that was being demolished. the impact sent 100 tons of concrete flying and killed a construction worker. here's how one witness described it. >> i heard like a real big boom. i kind of knew right then and there that something had failed or something collapsed. >> the truck driver was hurt but he is okay. the roadway is expected to be closed for at least 48 hours. in maryland six family members are still missing after a huge mansion fire. the 1600 square foot annapolis home went up in flames on

monday. there's still no sign of any remains. wrc in d.c. says the home is owned by don pile. he's the chief operating officer of science logic which is based in virginia. fighting that fire was really tough. water had to be shuttled in because there was no fire hydrant in the area. well, there was a nationwide celebration for what would have been dr. martin luther king, jr.'s 86th birthday, but the federal holiday has become a day of service. president obama and the first family were helping students put together literacy kits. homeland security jeh johnson laid a wreath at the memorial honoring the civil rights icon. from the nation's capital to boston denver, st. paul minnesota, thousands marched in the name of dr. king to protest police brutality. the queen of soul who is a long-time friend of mlk shared her thoughts on the significance of mlk day. >> i'm delighted and just thrilled to see that people are continuing to come out and pay

tribute and pay honor to dr. king and continuing the ideals of his dream. and the i have a dream speech. i think that he would be very pleased, but of course he would still say we've got a lot of work to do. >> a recent nbc news/"wall street journal" poll found more than half the country agree that his dream is carrying out, this nation is not a place where people are judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. a driver captured a big rig sliding across an icy road. did you see how close that came? my goodness this happened on the new jersey turnpike. the driver was in the car somehow staying calm as the truck whizzed by. take you to florida, a woman faints behind the wheel, causing an eye popping crash. the car going 60, flipped, took

out a taco stand. the driver and her boyfriend escaped with just minor injuries. >> i was just driving along. it just -- bingo, it just happened. it was just like day and night. >> and miami beach, dirt bikes and atvs are taking over. riders have turned streets into raceways. both are illegal on public streets. right now, we want tet to get down to business with cnbc's landon dowdy. >> good morning. the markets come back looking to build on friday's rally. stocks snapped a five-day losing streak, but the dow, nasdaq and s&p 500 ended in the red. look for data on housing today and earnings from johnson & johnson and morgan stanley. the number of deaths tied to the gm faulty switches are up to 49. families can submit claims for compensation. gm has repaired 65% of the 1.1 million small cars recalled.

amazon is moving from the small to the big screen. the company plans to produce about a dozen original movie a year. amazon will release them in theaters and then on amazon prime a month orthopedic two later. back over to you. we want the latest in sports because coach "k" is one win away from the milestone. the blue devils beat pitt, giving coach "k" his 999th win. his next game comes up on sunday. and the hoyas led by as many as 26 points to hand villanova their second loss of the season in a crushing 78-58 win. the first round of the australian open continues. defending champion stan verinka had no trouble. he sent his opponent packing in straight sets. on the women's side caroline

wozniacki beat taylor thompson, and venus williams won. and just earlier her sister serena gets the win against the belgian. lindsey vonn has won her super "g" in italy, breaking a record that stood for 35 years. her boyfriend, tiger woods, showed his support. he received unwanted attention after this picture was circulated with him missing a tooth. well that's some bad luck. so after earning another trip to the super bowl the seahawks are back tracking from a questionable mlk tweet they posted from their official account. it said, we shall overcome #mlk day. attached was a photo of quarterback russell wilson crying along with a quote by martin luther king, jr. social media react and shortly

after the seahawks deleted the tweet and issued an apology saying we did not intend to compare football to the civil rights legacy of dr. king. and during the chinese basketball contest, watch this. that guy, yeah, he fell a little short while trying to dunk over five people. hey, a bunch of people in his way, what to you expect? a new report about law enforcement using radar devices. and plus an unwelcome surprise one child got after missing a birthday party.

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welcome back on this tuesday. i hope everyone had a great holiday weekend if you were allowed to have that. as far as the weather, it was just gorgeous. the southern half of the country, 73 was a record high. wichita, kansas, in the middle of winter. right in the smack heart of january. it continues today, but it will

slowly come to an end. two storms, this is very weak near chicago. light snow green bay, up towards north of grand rapid. but this clipper coming down will provide snow for many people, including the ohio valley and the mid at lap lick. now, this is not a big winter weather event, but as we have seen with the ice in the northeast, we had a lot of small storms produce a lot of havoc on the roads. detroit, cleveland, pittsburgh, right through the mid-atlantic even baltimore, philly and new york, thursday morning will be a chance for some of that. but tell you what, 50 in d.c. today. 60s in the carolinas. >> no one is complaining. >> except for us in new england. but that's beyond the point. >> we're used to it. all right, thank you, bill. some stories making news

isis released new video which claims to show the notorious jihad jihadi john threatening to kill two japanese tourists unless a ransom is paid. the prime minister vows to work with other countries to free the hostages. fresh off his asia tour, pope francis has confirmed he will visit the u.s. since september. he'll visit the nation's capital, philadelphia, and new york city. there are reports that he could make appearances at the white house, the united nations and ground zero. a stunning new report from "usa today" for the last two years, police and 50 law enforcement agencies including the fbi have been using radar devices in secret that let them see inside people's homes. the devices use radio waves to detect the person's presence, where they are and whether they're moving. now, federal officials say the information is needed to keep officers safe, but private advocates and judges are expressing concern that it violates fourth amendment guards against unusual searches and

seizure seizures. beware if your kids get an invite to a party and they agree to go they better go or they'll have to pay up. a young boy was supposed to two to a party and then his parents realized they had a prior commitment. and they were sent a $24 no show bill. his parents refused to pay the bill and now the case could go to small claims court. can you believe that? watch out for those birthday parties. still ahead, a senator faces tough questioning and huckabee gets heckled. ank of america the new banking rewards program that rewards our customers, every day. you'll get things like rewards bonuses on credit cards.... extra interest on a savings account... preferred pricing on merrill edge online trades and more... across your banking and investing get used to getting more. that's the power of more rewarding connections that's preferred rewards from bank of america.

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here's your "first look" at the scrambled politics. after breaking several bones in an exercising accident earlier this month, senate minority leader harry reid will head back to work today. reid will return to the capital, but will not be attending the state of the union address. meanwhile, terry mcauliffe has broken seven run bones from falling a horse yesterday. he had to undergo a procedure to remove fluid around his lung xz. he tweeted, thank you for the well wishes. i'm looking forward to resuming the full schedule in the next few days. india is stepping up security along the border with pakistan and this comes ahead of president obama's trip to new delhi later this month. the border security says soldiers would be alert both day and night during the president's

visit. and larry wilmore kicked off last night. he introduced a new game keeping it 100. guests have been to 100% honest and the audience didn't think that cory booker was keeping it 100. >> okay, ready? got to keep it 100. >> bring it. >> do you want to be president? >> no. [ laughter ] >> i got some weak tea for you. >> called him out. and on the daily show with jon stewart, former arkansas senator mike huckabee stopped by. stewart shared some advice with huckabee. >> you have a show on fox, you had a show. >> i had a show yes. >> how long did you have it for? >> 6 1/2 years. >> and you quit. >> yes. >> to run for president. >> well, very likely. very possible. >> let me tell you something. go back and beg them for your job back. [ laughter ]

you have made a terrible, terrible mistake. what are you doing? >> he is not holding back. that is your morning dish of scrambled politics. here's another guy who doesn't hold back, i'm talking about political analyst, best selling author joining me right now. >> this is so much more fun than politics hanging out and talking. >> you know, the president has been doing a lot of hanging out across the nation. he has been rolling out this agenda ahead of the state of the union address. because he's put out there what his agenda items are, do we expect any surprises tonight? >> well i don't think there are going to be too many surprises. it's all about the middle class. the economy is doing better. the job numbers are up. but so many normal americans don't feel it. >> right. >> tonight is the night for you guys. the president going to give you some stuff is that might help you feel better. >> here's what could be interesting on the issue of paid family leave, do you expect many republicans in congress

especially the 28 republican women to applaud that push tonight? >> half and half right? some of them are so ideological they can't agree with anything this president does. but quite a few of them understand that regular folks really do struggle with that. right? family leave, sick leave the stuff that makes it harder to be a real part of the economy. we have to do something about some of those things. >> well given the president's recent jump in the polls, do you think republicans are going to kind of take that into account as they react to his agenda tonight? would it be smart of them to? >> here's the problem. there's a lot of good feeling. those numbers are up americans want the folks in washington to actually do some stuff that's practical. but god we're so divided. >> right. >> you just watch the applause, who's clapping and who's not. it will tell you a lot. >> well what are you going to be watching for tonight? >> listen, i like you, i want a surprise. but i want to hear how the president is going to articulate those complex ways in the tax code and other places that we

actually can make life better. we're going to close some loopholes, going to help with that child tax credit. going to do some things to make sure that people keep more of the money they make and the community college thing. that's very interesting. >> think a lot of boos tonight? >> people don't really boo too much. usually there's one or two nutty people who scream out something. so i'll -- i guess i'm always listening for the political theater as well. >> i'm sure there will be a little. so do you think the president is thinking at all about legacy in this speech tonight? >> well, he's got to, right? probably won't get that much legislation through the congress, right? i mean the republicans are still polling in a very different direction. there's a presidential campaign looming. so yeah, he's got to be thinking when history looks back on me, what will they remember? he must be nervous and thinking maybe i better pile on a little bit, throw them a couple of extra bones before i get out of here. >> it will be interesting. all right, i can't wait to see

it. >> it will be fun. >> of course, we'll take a look. we'll have it live right here on msnbc. in the meantime they made millions of dollars and earned grammys but the group that's asking fans to fund their next album. plus, why is the baby in "american sniper" fake? ld. ♪ ♪ but to get from the old way to the new you'll need the right it infrastructure. from a partner who knows how to make your enterprise more agile, borderless and secure. hp helps business move on all the possibilities of today. and stay ready for everything that is still to come. [ female announcer ] we help make secure financial tomorrows a reality for over 19 million people. [ alex ] transamerica helped provide a lifetime of retirement income. so

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27 minute past the hour. you might think one dancing robot is impressive. well, how about a hundred of these things? 100 in fact humanoid robots showed off in a promotional event in tokyo. they may be small in size -- yeah. >> 2020. >> before you know it. but only 13.4 inches tall. that's all that is right there.

to recognize over 200 japanese crazes, they can kick a ball and even bust a move as you see right there. all right, let's get to some entertainment news and if that wasn't entertaining enough. fans are asking why did director clint eastwood use a fake baby in the box office smash "american sniper?" the screenwriter and executive producer tweeted, quote, i hate to ruin the fun, but real baby number one showed up with a fever. number two, was a no show. and clint voiced give me a doll kid. that wasn't a good clint voice. i'll work on that. all right. so the music group tlc wants a comeback. they started a kick starter website to raise funds for a -- >> tlc chasing water falls? >> they're chasing cash right now. and jimmy kimmel took to the streets asking people if they saw the speech that martin luther king, jr., made yesterday. the answers are shocking. >> i thought it was great, you know? very inspiring motivational.

>> i think it was great. >> what did you like about it? >> all the detailed and things like that. >> how did dr. martin luther king look to you? did he look like he gained a little weight? >> yeah, he did. that's all i can say. >> "way too early" is next. . the u.s. constitution mandates that from time to time the presidential give congress information on the state of the union and we know what some of the information that the president will give out today. will the republicans want the hear it or act on it? plus mystery and intrigue a prosecutor in argentina found dead after accusing the south american president of a cover-up involving the worst terror attack in history. it is confirmed, pope francis is going to be visiting the u.s. this year. what he has to say about

catholics quote, mating like rabbits. this is "way too early." ♪ >> hey, everybody. i'm thomas roberts. it is tuesday, january the 20th. welcome to "way too early." we wonder what our fourth grade teacher sister theresa would say about that pope rabbit comment. we want to begin in washington as we are hours away from president obama's sixth state of the union address. it will be his next to last one. and for the first -- for the republican controlled house and senate and this is an opportunity for the president to present his ideas and he's vowed to play quote offense, with showdowns looming over the keystone pipeline and immigration reform and other issues will be on full display. relations with cuba. one of president obama's