sean penn. the political barb flies as the political frontrunners hit the entertainment shows. and arctic air across the central and eastern u.s. and the impact of david bowie's life explodes in tributes around the globe. "early today" starts right now. the undefeated number one clemson tigers facing off against the number two alabama kremson tide. just beforen half time clemson with a first down. but the clock did not stop. and they settel for a 44-yard field goal that comes up short. all tied up at 24. and alabama with the game changer. >> and now an onside kick and it's caught.

>> two plays later, quarterback finds aer wide open howard for a touchdown and the lead. later in the fourth, after a clemson field goal cut the lead to four, alabama's drake set off for the kick off. >> lookout, kennian drake can fly. they lose the kicker and will not be caught. touchdown, drake. >> and that gave them an 11 point lead that would pruchb tooove too much. it's the fourth national championship in seven n tiyears. only bryant has more with six. and after the game, he spoke about what it meant. >> there weren't very many people that thought this team could do it and this team made a tremendous to one another and

been prouder of a group of young guys and that's why i'm so happy for these players. and p rnow president obama's final state of the union address. a nontraditional message with an optimistic tone. and tracie, any specific word on what we're expected to hear? >> reporter: what the white house has said w is that the president wants to focuses on the big picture, some of his accomplishments and also taking a look forward at where we need go as a nation, not specifically wut what we need to do this year but he did say there are things he hopes congress can accomplish, being criminal justice reform and approve that transpacific trade partnership but the bulk of tonightul will be the big picture and he has another video, preview talking about

here's what he says. >> i want us to be able to, when we walk out this door, to say we couldn't think of anything else that didn't try to do, that we didn't shye away from a challenge because it was hard; that we weren't timed idor got tired. there is no next thing. this is it. and never in our lives again will we have a chance to do as much good as we will now. >> reporter: a bit of difference with the black and white and the church organ music going on behind. andbe we're going to hear from south carolina governor nikki haley representing republicans in what they're calling an doctor's, not specifically a response after the address.

show is at the white house for a preview of the state of the union doctor's. it begins at 9:00 p.m. eastern, 6:00 pacific. sque burnbernie sanders is putting opfight and that top pair along with martin o'malley came together for the black and white fusion. and sanders lashed out. >> have you noticed lately that she's been getting more aggressive with you? >> yes. >> why is that? >> i don't know. >> you tell me. >> it could be that the inevitable candidate for the democratic nomination may not be so inevitable today. >> clinton answered with digs of her own questioning the senator's electability and his weak stance on gun control but

they, republican frontrunner. >> anybody can win. who would have thought donald trump would be leading in national polls. i mean for those of you ever thought of running for president, take heart.t. >> well, her target there, donald trump, he was on the tonight show last night and if he's telling the truth, we ain't seen nothing yet. >>ng the newest poll came out where i'm beating her easily and winning against hillary one on one. and i haven't even started on her yet. although last week i did a bitple. >> well, trump has reason to be in a good mood. a new poll has him dominating in new hampshire. and farther down, carly fiorina and rand paul. they both have been relegated to the kid's table but senator paul says he's not going.

anythingn that's not first tier. >> that debate will be this thursday night.gh mexican authorities have released new video of one of the most wanted men el chapo guzman. and they have obtained these mug shot pictures of el chapo, and there are new details in the strange subplot featuring an oscar winning actor. here reporting. >> reporter: dramatic video just released by the mexican government showing friday's raid of el chapo's safe house. mexican marines closing in on the most wanted drug lord in the world as el chapo makes one last stitch effort o to escape through an underground tunnel. they emerged from this sewer line about a half mile away and

wereho able to track him down. after his dramatic escape through a tunnel last july he was on the run but then took a secret meeting with oscar winning actor sean penn brokeered by this actress who once played a drug lord on tv. he reached out to her to discuss making a movie about his life. and together they travelled to mexico under surveillance by mexican authorities. penn would arrange this video interview and write an article for rolling stone describing the process as a clandestine horror show and encrypted messages. 2 it would be three months

if guzman's extradated to the united states, his admissions to penn could come back to haunt him. >> it's not clear that sean penn violated any american laws by this interview. it wasn't ethical but not necessarily illegal. >> and mexican authorities have started the extradition process to bring guzman to the u.s. to face drug charges. and meanwhile, they say sean penn had nothing s to do with the final capture of el chapo. tragic news. a couple and their two daughters, 8 and 12, were killed when their house kexploded. . and it shook nearby homes. one witness says he saw flames shooting from the roof. >> to see fire that close, that big, the whole entire house, 30 feet high, it's like wow. >> authorities say the family

the cause of the explosion is under investigation. theio mother of affluenza teen, ethan couch is expected to bepe released after having her bond lowered to just 75,000 after one of her sons testified that she's broke and he's currently paying her legal bills and said that her bank account balance is negative 99 billion and currently frozen by authorities. she will have to wear an ankle monitor. she's been charge would hindering the apprehension of her son ethan fled in violation of hison probation. he's fighting extradition to the u.s. and near whiteout conditions in buffalo, new york. snow plows had difficulty because there was so much snow and traffic. and takeaf a look at this.

after being hit with waves from lake erie. >> what kind of car is it? >> one that's not going to start. bill karins here with your forecast. >>fo we're actually tracking snow, all snow. andal it's a light snow. winter weather advisories are in effect. and how much snow are you going to end up with? from pittsburgh to state college to syracusee and buffalo, one to two inches of fluffy snow. the storm will redevelop and nail maine late toonlt.night. and our friends in canada are also going to get hit. as far as the cold behind the storm, this is a dangerous cold.

and minneapolis, negative 20 and the cold winds will be movaling to chicago and detroit. in the south, not too bad. with a wintry mix heading to new england. and boston harbor will see a brief period of snow showers. now a closer look at your day ahead. the snow will be quick. about three hours at most for many areas and then the sun will probably even come out. and there's that cold, frigid air behind it. so, a little cold, a little snow. >> that's a lot cold. bill, thank you so much for that. a major supreme court case that could impact america forever. and a friendly meeting with

the fate of public unions that represent teachers, police and others hangs in the balance anceance after the supreme court heard a pivotal case yesterday. and it appears the court may decide that nonunion workers will not have to pay dues to the unions. one teacher feels it violates her free speech since she disagrees with many of the union's position. >> we should be able to decide if what the union is doing is good for our workplace and our students. and check out this dash cam video of a car ram nothing to a police car while a man was on the hood. he was reportedly fighting with his brother who was driving.

domestic disturbance. the money was reportedly used to pay isis fighters and their families. and never, ever try to kiss a snake. one chinese tourist in thailand had to learn it the hard way when a python bit her on the face in an animal park. let's get down to business. rupert murdock announced his engagement to jerry hall. she's also known for her marriage and four children with rolling stones front man, mick jagger. for $200 million, the play boy mansion could be yours. any buyer must allow the famous resident to continue living and working in the mansion until his death. just ahead, the team vegas

the nfl is dropping the hammer

sports is up next.ext. in sports, if you're just tuning in, alabama won the national championship late last night, defeating number one

and one short of coach bryant for most of all time. and the arizona cardinals are favored to won. and the nfl has suspended bengals line backer for repeated violations of safety related playing rules. american skier lindsey vaughan has two more skiing wins. she also won the down hill and for those keeping score gives her 73 overall world cup wins, just 14 behind the record. up ahead, more david bowie tributes.

was 1.4 billionllion now to entertainment news. as news of david bowie's death spread, so did the world wide tributes. they left flowers on the hollywood star of fame. london's british telecomtower erer scrolled bowie's name.

"black star" topped i tunes charts. a tribute will be at carngy haul and earlier this month, the cincinnati zoo named the penguin bowie. they shared a january 8th birthday. a memorial service was held yesterday for nattily coal. she died new year's eve at age 65. and mgm wants to set a 2017 release date for rocky's sequel "creed ii." i have good intentions. i'll be like, darling, let's go dance to this that girl is poison >> he is too funny and has the moves.

"early today." leading the news this morning on nbcnews.com istanbul square hit by blast. at least one dead and several more wounded following a explosion. and turkey has been dealing with the threat of isis-linked extremists. a double suicide bombing that killed people in the turkish

and they foil an ice attack for new year's eve. and donald chip pugh didn't like his mug shot, so he sent them a different one. it was captioned here's a better photo. thats one is terrible. they're hoping he'll turn himself in. amazing. the residents of white burrow, new york voted oen a controversial seal. it appears to show a white settler choke agnative american. they say it dates back to the early 1900s. a majority were in favor of keeping the image despite back lash. and the prize swells to an estimated $1.4 billion ahead of the drawing. and the cash value is $868 million. and a burglar made a bold move in portland, oregon last

a man seen stuffing a snake in his pants before walking out of a pet store. it was being sold for $200 and police are still searching for the suspect. the guinness world record just released stunning video of a record breaking light show in germany. the show is made up of 100 drones lighting up the sky to bayb bethoven's fifth symphony. it hopes to push the limits of the industry. >> the applications are incredible. the olympics the opening ceremony, it's that quality.

celebrating birthdays today, howard stern turns 62, and rush lim bah is 65 and also turning

hope you have a it was everything that it was billed to be. this year's national championship was an emotional rollercoster for both teams and fans, but in the end, it was alabama walking off the field as champions once more. deshaun watson and the tigers left everything they had on the field, giving the crimson tide the fight of their lives. but big runs by heisman trophy winner derrick henry, and risky calls from nick saban, gave alabama the edge. bama earned its fourth title in the last 7 years