. >> tracie potts on the hill for us. thank you.

tracie potts is in washington. sarah, the countdown is on. so what are you hearing about the big halftime show? sdpr >> reporter: it should be a fantastic time. this will not be the super bowl of decades past when college marching bands used to entertain the crowd. the nfl also going through big changes and commissioner roger goodell will address those later today in his state of the nfl speech. katiey perry armed with a marshawn lynch joke. >> i'm here so i won't get fined. >> i'm just here so i won't get fined. >> reporter: perry promised an equally fun performance at halftime. huge graphics. producers have already revealed lenny kravitz will perform alongside perry during the halftime show. >> we try and bring the crowd something different and the audience something different. lenny kravitz is going to bring a twist to katy perry's performance. >> reporter: the game played on a worldwide stage in a season where it's off the field headlines grabbing headlines. sexual assault and child abuse headlines. roger goodell will step into the spotli

. >> tracie potts on the hill for us. thank you. >>> and you can download the nbc washington app for a link to the president's full speech online. >>> right now fire and police crews remain on the creep of that massive fire at a mansion in anne arundel county. a news conference is scheduled for later this morning. there is still no sign of a maryland couple and their four grand children. relatives fear the family was inside the hole whenme when it burned down. they face major challenges as

tracie potts is live in washington right now.hat's the reaction been like here in the united states? >> reporter: well, lots of concern and people who are determined to make the point that not only in the united states, but in france, we need to support freedom of speech. we have seen that in an outpouring of support in demonstrations in the last 24 hours here in the u.s. americans rallied in new york. in washington. >> they want us to be scared but we're not going to be scared. >> reporter: there's extra security at the french mission in new york as americans wonder if there could be an attack like that here. >> a lot of people say i can be like that too. >> this is someone who is planning an attack, they want to survive and go off. and i think this is some new territory for us to be in. >> reporter: president obama called french president francois hollande to offer support. >> freedom of expression is something that can't be silenced. >> reporter: in paris, the manhunt continues. this morning the french say an 18-year-old suspe

. >>> tracie potts on the hill for us. thank you, tracie. dozens gathered at the museum to read the names of the victims each followed by "i am charlie." rallies came out holding -- the people at the rallies were holding pens to support freedom of speech. >> they need to be stopped. >> at one point it did get so cold the museum invited these people inside to get a break from the weather. . >>> it is now 4:48. new this morning north korea is now demanding the u.s. lift its sanctions against them. last week the white house announced 10 north korean government leaders are band from entering the u.s. they do not have access to the u.s. financial system. north korea denies it was behind the cyber attack that led to the sanctions. the u.s. says it is confident they are. this comes as kim jong-un celebrates his birthday today >> crews are still testing the system. it is expected to start later this month. a crash banged up this car's bumper. police stopped the street car to investigate. we're told no one was hurt. this is the system's second crash

nbc's tracie potts is live in washington this morning. so, tracie, are these battle lines being drawn between dems and the gop? >> reporter: certainly seems that way, francis. the president is headed to michigan to talk about jobs, later housing and college on his agenda. republicans in charge say the president isn't driving this train. day one and they're already drawing lines in the snow. >> he's not going to determine what we do. >> reporter: in an interview with his hometown tv station, new senate majority leader mitch mcconnell said the bill to approve the keystone oil pipeline will land on the president's desk. >> the president is not going to set our agenda in the senate. >> reporter: but the white house after leaving the door open now says. >> i can confirm to you that if this bill passes this congress the president wouldn't sign it either. >> reporter: the president's off to michigan today to talk jobs. >> i'm going to detroit to talk about more things we can do to promote advanced manufacturing and innovation and research base. >

nbc's tracie potts is live from washington. tracie this is causing all kinds of trouble for airlines passengers and the fbi. >> sure. well, we already had bad weather this week. now over the last several days these bomb threats as well coming in through twitter. it has made a very difficult week for the airlines. not only spend tens of thousands of dollars trying to deal with this but it's been a huge inconvenience for passengers. they can't afford not to take everyone seriously. they have to ground the planes get everyone off, go through the bags. no bomb found by the fbi is investigating. twitter is cooperating. they have suspended the accounts that are involved in this. meantime the fbi is saying it looks like it could be pranks or it could be copy cats not necessarily isis. some of those tweets were very specific like we are isis. we are here as in here on the plane. or we have planted explosives. in one case we know fighter jets ended up accompanying those planes as they were grounded. it may not be real in terms of isis bu

tracie potts in washington, d.c. two things to keep our eyes on. thanks tracie. >>> and the deep freeze continues throughout much of the country, creating some pretty remarkable images. check out this blizzard that slammed northern iowa. it led to dangerous driving conditions. many had to shelter at rest stops, posted warning drivers not to travel in these conditions. the department of transportation had to shut the highway down just before 8:00 p.m. more from nbc's dan sheneman. >>> the winter of 2015 is one for the record books, an arctic blast, from blizzard conditions in north dakota to as far south as jacksonville florida, seeing a rare fleury of snow and ice. bone chilling temperatures have 200 million people bundling up. >> a sweat coat heavy jacket. >> layers. layer up. >> reporter: pensacola, bottomed out at 19. charlotte, north carolina, degrees. west virginia negative 2. >> interstate bridges, underneath the bridges. >> reporter: in nashville, patrols search for anyone needing shelter from the cold. >> you know it will be the coldest nigh

nbc's tracie potts has a preview for us. >> our job is to make sure that every american peoples a partf the comeback. >> reporter: tonight a cross-section of these americans that president obama is targeting. a woman had surgery on a brain tumor thanks to obamacare. >> i just 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 exband the family business. >> now we have seven stores and we have over a hundred employees. 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. ou

nbc's tracie potts is on capitol hill where the battle with republicans is just beginning. >> reporter: before president obama arrived at the white house, early this morning, sources tell us top democrat nancy pelosi was on air force one convincing him not to tax college savings plan. the white house confirms he's dropping that idea. key democrats and republicans agree it would hurt the middle class. >> we need opportunities to empower and reward folks for preparing for the future but the president's plan does just the opposite. >> it's another example of his out-dated top-down approach. >> reporter: in private, house speaker john boehner says he's close to finalizing a plan to sue president obama over immigration. the senate's planning to deal with immigration and homeland security funding after they approve the keystone oil pipeline. >> the keystone pipeline vote is about jobs. it's about opportunity. >> reporter: and it's going nowhere. the president already promised a veto. >> i think we should do everything we can to persuade at least a half dozen democrats to join us to get this

tracie potts is in washington. sara, let's start with you. the count down is on. what are you hearing about the halftime show? everyone is looking forward to that. >> reporter: they are, betty. we've come a long way with halftime shows in the past couple decades. it actually used to be college marching bands entertaining the crowd. the nfl also going through changes and commissioner roger goddell will address those later today in his state of the nfl speech. katie perry walked into thursday's were press conference wearing a football themed outfit and armed with a mar san lynch joke. when asked if she as her eye on any tick player. >> i'm just here so i don't get fined. >> perry promised an equally fun performance at halftime with huge graphics and surprise me fail guest. producers have revealed lenny extra vits will perform alongside perry. >> we try to bring the crowd something different so by lengthing lenny in it's going to bring a twist. >> reporter: the nfl's biggest game will be played on a world side stage following the season where it was the off the field

. >> nbc's tracie potts is in washington. what were the biggest takeaways from the president's approach. >> reporter: the president's approach was let's not be too cynical. there are things in america working a lot better than they were six years ago. more people have jobs. more people have health care and republicans would argue whether or not that's working. more people are graduating from college and he'd say there's no more recession. >> the shadow of crisis has passed. >> reporter: president obama's state of the union took on everything from climate change to cuba immigration and isis. >> we will continue to hunt down terrorists -- >> he previewed what's coming in his budget in two weeks, free community college, paid sick leave, a push to raise the minimum wage policies he says will help the middle class. >> these policies will continue to work as long as politics don't get in the way. >> let's set our sights higher than a single oil pipeline. >> reporter: his push for higher taxes for the wealthy isn't likely to go far.

tracie potts live on capitol hill with more on the meeting between the two leaders. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. we're just getting news in this morning that there have been more as they try to thwart those terror threats in paris and berlin. this all part of the conversation tha are likely to have as they talk about how the two can cooperate. one thing we know that they're planning are joint exercises between the u.s. and the uk to hit the financial industry. these are simulated attacks later this year to see how london banks al streetactreact. we're told cameron will press obama to allow more government surveillance as they try to team up and s intelligence to thwart these types of attacks. this is definitely resonating here in washington as we continue to watch for the latest developments on the foiled raid here -- or i should say attack here on the u.s. capitol, that pipe bombing that did not happen. >> tracie potts on the hill for us. thank you. >>> and britain is staging cyber war games later this year. britain an america will join forces trying to

tracie potts is live on capitol hill to tell us more on what he plans to do. >> reporter: the president will be speaking at the university there touring a product lab, looking forward and again pitching some of the ideas that we heard here last night. a hallmark of that state of the upspeech he wants to raise taxes on the wealthy and cut taxes, give tax breaks to the middle class. the president says we need to be focusing on what he calls middle class economics. policies that will help lift working families out of the whole that many are still in. he said that yes, we are out of the recession, but a lot of families simply aren't feeling it. and he urged congress to work with him. >> i served in congress with many of you. i know many of you well. there are a lot of good people here on both sides of the aisle. and many of you have told me that this isn't what you signed up for. >> reporter: republican reaction both if i recall from joni ernst, she did the official response, and from other republicans we talked to a lot of them thought that this was a speech with rose colored glasses and e

tracie potts looks at the best way to make your resolution stick. >> reporter: here comes 2015 and theew year's resolutions. >> i'm going to run 1,000 miles this year. >> stop doing this. >> save more. just because i just graduated so i need to hunker down a little bit. >> wake up and do a good job in school. >> reporter: a recent poll found 4 out of 10 will make resolutions this year. >> i guess i'll recycle more and i'll make my bed every morning hopefully. >> reporter: but last year 4 in 10 did not keep those promises. >> so often we fall in the trap of we want to change major things and we have the expectation that it's going to change very quickly. and it just doesn't happen that way and we set ourselves up and> reporter: weight loss is the top goal for this year according to the poll and for good reason. >> good news in america is we are liveing longer. the bad news, we're living longer sicker. >> reporter: in fact more than a third of our resolutions are about being healthy, eating better, going to the gym. but it's tough. >>

tracie potts in washington. it looks like both republicans and democrats are both trying to win support for the future. >> reporter: they are moving in different directions we'll see more as the president heads to red state kansas as he pitches economics. here on capitol hill they are dealing with a ton of different issues including that keystone pipeline. >> as president obama crisscrosses across the country pitching middle class economics, congress is moving toward a vote on keystone pipeline and dealing with a hodgepodge of other issues from authorizing military force against isis. >> it's going to be a clear mission. >> to abortion. there's a vote to prohibit federal funding on the 42nd anniversary of roe versus wade. >> women's reproductive rights must be respected. >> reporter: lifting trade embargo on cuba is on the back burner as historic high-level talks begin today. >> we need to move on. the united states needs to move on. >> reporter: but it's the tone in washington that could threaten progress. >> t

tracie potts live on capitol hill for us this morning with more on this. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. s's been a couple of days this happened saturday night and the secret service has yet to announce that they know who was behind it. fortunately, no one was hurt. it happened in the evening. it was around 8:30 when someone according to the secret service sped by in a car and fired multiple rounds at the delaware home of vice president joe biden. this didn't happen in d.c., it happened in delaware where he was spending the holiday weekend. shortly after that they did detain someone who came by and resisted arrest, but no word those incidents are connected. this there were also separate shots fired at a nearby reservoir. so the secret service is trying to figure out if there are any connections there. you might remember last week a delaware national guard base increased their security after five people in two days came by asking for directions they thought that there was something unusual about that. so as we're used to security concerns here in w

tracie potts is live in washington. the speaker's comments could open debate over the nsa's reach. >> reporter: it could, especially in the climate we're dealing with now. there's a lot more happening in aurp as they try to crack down on jihadists. and here in the united states speaker boehner says the only reason we knew there was a plot to attack the u.s. capitol was because of government surveillance. >> we would have never known about this had it not been for the fisa program and our ability to collect information on people who pose an imminent threat. >> fisa foreign intelligence surveillance act that allowed the government to for lack of a better word snoop on americans and their conversations, e-mails and phone calls when the government believed it's warranted to find out about possible attacks on the united states. now also today, president obama is meeting with british prime minister david cameron. we believe they're going to be talking about cyber war games between the two countries to see how, for example, wa

and its allies are doing enough to fight isis. >> tracie potts live for us. thank you. >>> and today we will learn more about how the historic talks between the u.s. and cuba are going. the assistant secretary of say the and cuba's foreign relations minister will hold a news conference today. the two countries are trying to re-establish full diplomatic relations. but sharp differences remain on the topic of human rights. >>> we now know what sparked will this massive fire that destroyed a new jersey condo complex. firefighters say the flames started during a plumbing repair job. a blow torch apparently set the walls on fire and spread from there. that infer thoughno burned for more than 15 hours. >>> friends are mourning 73-year-old dennis lee. he was an active member at american legion post 85. firefighters pulled him out of his burning home early yesterday morning. he died from breathing in too much smoke. he had lived in the house on south randolph for 30 years. firefighters are still trying to figure out what caused the fire. >>> tonight "dateline" will t

tracie potts is live in washington for us. what more can you tell us? >> reporter: we're learning a lot more because the grand jury indictments have been unsealed. apparently michael hoyte had a history of treatment for psychiatric problems, was apparently either going to shoot or poison the drinks of the speaker and thought that he would tell police he was jesus and speaker boehner was responsible for ebola. they found lots of writings in his home about that. he also had been e-mailing frequently boehner's wife. his mother according to the court papers found a gun in the house and removed it because she was concerned about her son's mental state. authorities also found an assault rifle and some ammunition in that home. now the concern is will he be getting out of the hospital. he was hospitalized for psychiatric evaluation a 45-day hold. that mental exam expected to be up in just a few weeks. authorities say he's still a threat. >> tracie potts for us in washington, d.c. thank you very much. >>> overnight, a colossal fire near fresno california. this i

"today in the bay's" tracie potts has the latest from c capitol hill. >> reporter: this morning, the secret service is trying to figure out who drove by vice president biden's home saturday night and fired multiple gunshots. the secret service heard it, so did a neighbor. one agent saw a car speeding by. soon after, county police report more shots fired in the area. >> they're going to be questioning people, trying to bring it together, checking some cameras in the last retail place they passed and see if they can find out who is the car, who was shooting and what it's about. >> reporter: a man drove by, he was questioned and detained after resisting arrest. he is not charged in the shooting. last week a delaware national guard base the vice president uses raised security after five cars stopped by in two days to ask for directions. authorities found that suspicious. also last week, the fbi revealed separate plots to bomb the u.s. capitol and poison house speaker john boehner. four months earlier a knife-wielding fence jumper made it all the way into the white house. the secret servi

>> tracie potts on the hill. tracie? >>> this morning we will hear from house majority whip for the first time since learning he talked to a white supreme sift group in 2002. he will be at a house republican leadership meeting at 10:00. he said he didn't know what the group stood for at the time. some are calling for skalease to resign. he said he has no plans to do that. >> loudoun county schools are closed now. 6:35. bob mcdonnell says he will appeal his two-year prison sentence sometime today. maureen mcdonnell will be sentenced next month just about a week after bob mcdonnell is to report to the bureau of prisons. he was sentenced after a five-hour hearing yesterday. at first prosecutors wanted him to spend 10 years in prison. here's what he said after the ruling. >> i don't believe that i would be as much able to handle the news of today without the love of so many people around the state. >> news 4 also to a juror about mcdonnell's sentence. you can see her full interview on nbc washington app and nbcwashington.com

thanks to tracie potts on the hill. more on cuomo's legacy we are joined by mark murray, nbc political editor. good morning. >> good morning to you. >> so he was really respected from both sides of the aisle, mario cuomo. why is that? >> i think one of his big legacies he was a progressive in a much more political conservative era. you know when he ended up giving that convention speech in 1984 that was an election that ronald reagan was going to win in a blowout fashion over walter mondale. and later the next democratic candidate who ended up winning the presidency bill clinton not mario cuomo because cuomo decided not to run, he governmentgoverned more in a centrist in a lot of ways. so in a lot of ways he ended up having mario cuomo become this beacon to progressism. it hasn't come out until the obama era, so that's the best way to understand mario cuomo and his political legacy. >> he never ran for president, even though in the late '80s, he was popular. why didn't he run? >> part of it is sometimes he and -- he's b

tracie potts has more on the health alert in phoenix. >> reporter: in phoenix, super bowl preps are under way and so is an aggressive campaign to stop the measles. >> we're making a big deal out of this because we need to contain it now before it gets really widespread. >> reporter: as many as 1,000 people in arizona may have already been exposed. the cdc says the outbreak that started a disneyland may have come from overseas and it's now spread to 14 states. now there's a minnesota case with no apparent connection to disney. >> it's scary out there. especially when you have little ones. >> reporter: the 6-year-old is battling leukemia and can't get the shot. his parents want unvaccinated kids banned from school. >> why can't it be a requirement, unless it's a medical exception? >> reporter: but it's not just about kids. in southern california six in ten people with measles are adults. the virus is airborne so public places like malls are a big concern. >> if somebody were to walk in to that space within that two-hour time frame they have a possibility of contracting measles. >> reporter:

tracie potts is live for us. >> reporter: we'll see events all over the country including here in the nation's capitolal including the first family. they are trying to pitch it as a national day of service. last year we saw the obamas and bidens remembering the day by feeding needily families. we're waiting meantime the movie "selma" is playing a big role in today's events as well. the white house had a screening on friday. there was a march in alabama over the weekend. oprah winfrey was there. six members of the congressional black caucus were there remembering that effort to that voting rights for everyone here in the united states on the day that we remember the man who was so involved in that civil rights movement. >> tracie potts on the hill for us. thanks. >>> staying on the subject, a lot of people having the day off today, but really we want to talk about people having the day on meaning they're going out there, take part in these service projects. i think today might be a good day for it. >> let's check in with tom and see if he agrees. >> yes, indeed later today. but right n

nbc's tracie potts reports on that. >> reporter: this morning, the secret service is trying to figurevice president biden's home saturday night and fired multiple gunshots. the secret service heard it so did a neighbor. one agent saw a car speeding by. soon after police report more shots fired in the area. >> questioning people trying to bring it all together. maybe checking cameras in the last retay place they passed to see if they can figure who was in the car, who was shooting what's it about? >> reporter: half an hour after the shooting a man drove by. questioned and detained after resisting arrest and not charged in the shooting. last week a delaware national guards base the vice president uses raised security after five cars stopped by in two days to ask for directions. authorities found that suspicious. also last week the fbi revealed separate plots to bomb the u.s. capitol and poison house speaker john boehner. four months earlier, a knife-wielding fence jumper made it all the way into the white house. the secret service is under scrutiny. as a result there's an internal shake

tracie potts live on capitol hill. tracie good morning. >> reporter: aaron, good morning. it could be. the keystone xl pipeline is the top priority for this republican congress. they have approved it nine times before. the senate is where this thing has gotten stuck before. now it has at least one democrat on board. they will debate starting monday. we could see a vote later this month after the state of the union. the 26th at the earliest. they had to put off a hearing just the other day. but the white house officially issued a veto threat. so if the president is not going to sign it their plan. republican leaders are already looking at attacking it to a spending bill a must do bill that the president has to sign to push it through. we will continue to watch that for you today. >> thank you, tracie. >>> 4:48. the man accused of ramming two prince george's county police cruisers with a dump truck is facing attempted murder and assault charges. police arrested gene brandon shortly after the incident officers say brandon got into an argument with them beforehand and accused

nbc's tracie potts tells us more about what happened and how this is just the latest of several terror plots putting authorities on alert around the country. >> reporter: authorities arrested an ohio man they say was planning to set off pipe bombs in the u.s. capitol, then shoot people as they fled. undercover officers caught 20-year-old christopher lee cornell buying two assault-type rifles and 600 rounds of ammunition. >> he never showed any, any signs of any -- any kind of violence or anything. i mean quiet, shy. good kid. >> reporter: police say core gnehm tweeted about isis propaganda videos. his arrest comes just a day after details emerged about plot to kill house speaker john boehner, by boyspoisoning his drinks at an ohio country club. with the paris attacks still fresh, this is what authorities fear. one person under the radar. >> that is the thing that i think keeps me up most at night. >> reporter: nearby areas remain on alert. suspicious activity prompted extra security at a delaware national guard base frequented by vice president biden. >> so many people came by asking f

it will be tied up in court. >> tracie potts live on capitol hill.ice officers in alexandria. at 5:30 the police department and sheriff's department will turn on their emergency lights outside the masonic temple. you're looking at rallies in st. louis and san francisco. the organization concerns of police national law enforcement appreciation day. the group is asking people to wear blue to show support. >>> allegheny county schools on a two-hour delay. your time is 5:48. the nfl is being called out this morning for not investigating the ray rice incident properly. the former fbi director hired to examine the case released his decision yesterday. he said the league should have investigated the incident further before punishing the him. >>> today jayson werth is a 10-day jail sentence for reckless driving. he was going more than 100 miles per hour on the beltway last is july. they fined him $1,000. >> a faulty power strip destroyed a town home in alexandria section of fairfax county. they show it engulfed in flames. the home owner had several electroni

tracie potts joining us from washington. tracie, tracking? >> reporter: exactly, it comes from interviews and government reports that the aclu picked up through a freedom of information act request. they get this information from the government. bottom line, when you're driving on the nation's roads and highways, the government may be tracking in realtime your license plate and then storing that information. at least up to two years. now, they're doing it up to 33 months, according to this report. started out seven years ago as a way to track criminals who are bringing drugs across the border. now, it's being used in connection with local and state police departments. according to this report, to track other types of criminals to help with amber alerts, with missing children. the government says it is all legal. but the aclu and some lawmakers on capitol hill question that. the top democrat on the judiciary committee said there needs to be accountability here and it needs to be open. now, we're getting more details about it, likely a lot more

tracie potts joining us live now from capitol hill with more on this story. good morning. >> reporter: what led them arrest christopher lee cornell turns out it was his tweeting with an undercover person working with the fbi. he was tweeting about isis, pro isis messages, they had been following him for about a year. and it turns out this ohio man had a plot to set off pipe bombs at the u.s. capitol. and then shoot people as they came out. they caught him when he tried to purchase -- actually when he purchased two assault type weapons and 600 rounds of am you munition. the gun store owner says he never woul suspected this customer. >> nothing really out of the ordinary about him at all. >> of course this all came one day after we learned there was also a plot t john boehner, another ohio man, two unrelateded cases. >> tracie potts on the hill for us. thank you. >>> former virginia governor bob mcdonnell has a second appeal in court over the ruling he must report to prison next month. he appealed his two year sentence earlier this week and a judge denied his r

and republicans are saying that's not the way to go. >> tracie potts on the hill for us. thank you. >>> republicans opposed to most of the president's proposal. they chose not to respond directly to his speech. instead the gop response by senator joni ernst outlined a number of things republicans plan to focus on this year. >> we'll work to correct executive overreach. we'll propose ideas that aim to cut wasteful spending and balance the budget. with meaningful reforms, not higher taxes like the president has proposed. >> the response and the state of the union may go up 7 of the top 10 trending topics in twitter in our area right now. and you can read the entire speech right now online. the white house released it early. usually it's only released to the media before land. if you want to read it we put a link on nbcwashington.com. >>> virginia's former first lady could spend more than six years in prison for corruption. the "washington post" reports the probation office puts the sentencing guide line range between 5 and 6 1/2 years in prison. she'll be sentenced next mon

tracie potts live on capitol hill now.re talking more about a health alert here. >> reporter: yeah it's all about the measles. we've been hearing about what happened at sdizdisneyland, but in phoenix, as many as 1,000 people have been exposed. health officials all on top of it, not overly concerned that they will have a mass outbreak but they are certainly concerned about containing it and watching those people who may have seen some exposure. the cdc in atlanta now tells us that 14 states are dealing with the he's sellmeasles and they position it came from overseas. it is airborne, it is highly contagious. so it's a concern not just for kids but adults, as well. if you can't remember if you ever got the shot, might be worth getting that because if you're good opposed and you're unvaccinated, the chance of getting sick is 90%. >> tracie potts on the hill for us. thank you. >>> the recent measles outbreak is causing concern for parents quhoos children choose children are too young to being vaccinated. according to the cente

nbc's tracie potts is live on capitol hill now with more. >> reporter: it's all about a virus, the measles. it's airborne highly contagious and it's in arizona where thousands are pouring in for the super bowl. officials there say that already as many as 1,000 people have been exposed before the visitors started showing up. they're not so much concerned about a massive outbreak but they are trying to contain it. now, this is all part of that outbreak that started in disneyland and the cdc now says it's spread to 14 states. we have almost 100 cases in this country. but the health experts down in atlanta think that this actually started overseas. they have a case in minnesota right now that seems to have no connection to disneyland but that person did go overseas. so he they think it was brought into this country. health experts are telling us if you have not been vaccinated or if you can't remember if you've been vaccinated you might want to get that shot because unvaccin this virus have a 90% chance of getting sick. >> tracie potts live on capitol hill for us. thank you. >>> today the faa

aaron. >> tracie potts on capitol hill.thank you. >>> we have pictures just in from anne arundel county firefighters of a four alarm blaze burning right now in annapolis on childs point road. you can see all the smoke billowing throughout the neighborhood. takes large home that has been engulfed in flames. p no injuries reported. several firefighters are working to get the upper hand. you can see the damage the fire has already caused. the heavy flames and thick smoke conditions. chopper 4 on its way. as soon as it is in place and we can tap into the live camera, we'll show you what is going on right now. we'll be monitoring from the live desk. >>> less than an hour from now a bus load of people leaving from the fairfax to lobby for gun rights. as many as 1,000 are expected at the virginia general assembly today. the event begins at 8:30. buses are leaving from fairfax in fredericks wurg ssburg at 6:00 and 7:00. you had to reserve a ticket to get a ride. >>> at the same time gun regulation advocates will rally at the white

tracie potts live with more on today's meeting. >> reporter: good morning. the been in singync on this twice now. they penned editorials together on how they want to fight terrorists overseas. and now that fight for many is hitting home. they are meeting here in the white house today and we expect them talk about new methods of being ready for these types of attacks like the cyber war games that both countries have planned together to initially test how the financial sector might react. wall street and london banks if there were to be a cyber attack. we also expect prime minister cameron may try to lean on president obam get google and facebook and other internet companies to allow more government surveillance as they try to put together their intelligence a thwar these types of attacks. that all on the agenda today as they sit down together at the white house. >> tracie potts on the hill for us. thank you. and as she mentioned, britain will have cyber war games. they will join forces the games trying to improve the country's resistance to cyber t attacks wi

nbc's tracie potts is on capitol hill. >> reporter: president obama's hitting the road this week to lay out his agenda. talking jobs in detroit. home sales in phoenix. and college in tennessee. >> i want to work with them. i want to get things done. >> reporter: republicans say approving the keystone pipeline will likely be the first thing to hit the president's deck. >> we should put a lot of people to work almost immediately. >> reporter: but not enough democrats say. >> we're going to introduce an amendment to add clean energy jobs. >> he's going to have to decide between jobs and the extreme supporters of not having the pipeline. >> reporter: next for republicans. >> we have to pass a budget. there's only buteen one budget passed in the last six years. >> reporter: while blocking the president's immigration orders. >> i do think immigration should be done piece by piece. >> reporter: republicans will try again to roll back health care. focusing on something democrats may agree with. getting rid of the tax on medical devices. >> the hope is that we will find a way to pay for this and

tracie potts has more with how they are planning to address the recent terror threats. >> reporter: at least two things we expect they may talk about. first of all, the cyber wars that they are planning. these are planned attacks on different sectors of the society like the financial industry to see how they might react in termsattack. so it will start with banks in london and with wall street. also prime minisr cameron watch thes to lean on president obama to lean on places like google and facebook to allow more government surveillance so they can pool their intelligence and try to prevent attacks here and this great britain like we saw in paris. finally, in federal court today in cincinnati we are expecting the 20-year-old suspect who was accused of plotting a bomb attack on the u.s. capitol. christopher lee cornell has been put behind bars and is a waiting more information on the charges that he faces there. >> tracie potts on the hill for us. also new this morning, more than 400 american troops will head to syria to train rebels fighting isis. pentagon is also sending hundreds of u

tracie potts is live in washington. she's following this for us. what's the latest. >> reporter: well the latest is that there is a new offensive this morning by the kurd to try to push back isis. the pentagon also thinks that the fight against isis has been significant, it's been tangible there have been measurable impacts on isis despite some of the frustrations we're hearing from iraq's government. as iraq's kurds launch new investigation against isis today, the president is responding to iraq's call for more raining ingtraining weapons and support. >> i do disagree with the prime ministers. comments. i would say even further i don't think they're helpful. >> reporter: missiles trucks and tens of thousands of small arms am munitions. a training camp will open soon. >> we're doing everything we possibly can to help the iraqis. >> reporter: secretary of state john kerry said it's working. >> we're flushing them out zblncht. >> reporter: after the paris attacks linked to isis more paroles. and now new concerns about al qaeda. yemen's government has

tracie potts, nbc news washington. >>> there are a lot of fears all across the country about measles and concerns about how it spreads. here to clear up some of the confusion, registered nurse claudia fanero director of nursing for the camden county health department. are we dealing with a public health crisis? >> this is a public health crisis. it is spread person to person, which makes everybody at risk. >> tell us how contagious are measles and why and how is the disease spreading just so quickly? >> it is a highly contagious virus. it is spreading person to person for those that have not been vaccinated. >> well there is -- speaking of those who haven't been vaccinated, i read about a movement led by some celebrity parents out there, relative to mmr, measles, mumps and rubella. and some of these celebrity parents are under the impression that that's linked -- mmr is linked to autism. but that's been debunked by science, right? >> there is no evidence that says that autism is -- has any relation to the mmr vaccine. >> reporter: so why then >> so why are parents choosing not to hav

nbc's tracie potts reports from washington. >> reporter: forty world leaders marched hand in hand.resident obama and his cabinet were noticeably absent even authorize holder was in paris. this morning john kerry is responding to criticism saying our ambassador and assistant secretary and other embassy officials were there. >> the relationship with france is not about one day or one particular moment it's an ongoing, longtime relationship. >> the world rallied in paris, americans marched in support. but is the u.s. doing enough to keep terrorist like isis from striking here? lawmakers are increasingly worried about who may be plotting attacks right here in our backyard. >> they are now putting out propaganda for the most serious kind of bomb making a target list, planes to bomb where to sit on the plane. >> reporter: attorney general eric holder says al qaeda in yemen is the biggest threat not launching attacks but inspiring others to do so. >> that is the thing i think keeps me up most at night, the concern about the lone wolf who goes undetected. >> allows young recruits to train

again something that he's not willing to go along with. >> tracie potts on the hill for us. thank you. >>> the this afternoon the president will attend a formal farewell for chuck hagel. the president will speak at the ceremony in arlington. earlier this month, hagel went on a farewell tour of visiting several military bases. hagel is expected to be replaced by ashton carter. confirmation hearing for carter begin next week. >>> president obama calling for new rules for drones. today we're working to learn the name of the man who crashed one into the white house plan. we're told he works for the nagsed a gee owe spacial intelligence agency. he says that he was drinking at the time. that drone led to heightened security at the white house. we don't know whether that man will be charged with anything. >>> d.c. police are moving forward with granting a handful of people permits to carry concealed firearms in public. eight people have been given a permit since the department started accepting applications back in october. that's according to the "washington post". police say they

for the latest we turn to nbc's tracie potts. >> reporter: just like in paris, there's extra security in the u.s. this morning at federal buildings and the jewish museum in new york. >> we remain the number one terrorist target. >> reporter: there's growing concern about possible attacks here. terror sympathizers hacked the pentagon's twitter and youtube accounts threatening soldiers and posting isis propaganda videos. the pentagon insists no classified information or military secrets were released. and this morning the white house has apologized for not having a more recognizable face with world leaders at sunday's unity march in paris. >> we do believe that we should have sent somebody with a higher profile to the march beyond just the u.s. ambassador to france. >> reporter: france's ambassador insisted the faux pas was no big deal. >> there is absolutely no feel g -- no hard feeling. >> they know we've stood by them they've had our full support. >> reporter: the french are searching for six more suspects linked to last week's shootings. the woman in the veil hayat boumeddiene, has

tracie potts, nbc news washington. >> nbc bay area will air the state of the union live. our coverage begins at 6:00 tonight, but be sure to tune in early at 5:00 for today's local news. >> other news investigators in sunny dale looking for an armed man who held up a 7-eleven. take a look at the surveillance video. the owner showed up at 8:30 last night. a man comes into the store and showed a gun. he did not pull the gun, but he did mand money. the clerk emptied two cash registers and the gunman took off. nobody hurt. the owner told us this is the second time the store has been robbed in the past three years. >> police are telling homeowners in atherton to lock up after some strange run-ins over the weekend. the first incident happened on sutherland drive when a man was spotted looking into the windows of a home. a new minutes later, police were dispatched to neerbd mesa court after reports of a man lurking on another property. investigators released these sketches of what is believed to be the same man. people in the neighborhood are being extra cautious. >> sure that m

as tracie potts explains the theme is expanding america's economic comeback, which means cutting taxes for some and raising them for others. >> our job now is to make sure that every american feels that they're part of our country's comeback. >> reporter: tonight in first lady's box, a cross section of those americans president obama is targeting, astrid muhammad had surgery on a brain tumor thanks to obamacare. >> i remember laying there and thinking wow, i'm really grateful and blessed i had insurance. >> reporter: carolyn reed a government loan helped her expand the family business. >> we had three stores and now we have seven stores. 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: the president's tax plan isn't likely to go far in this congress. >> i think the president's plan to rais

tracie potts here with some of the highlights. >> reporter: the president hit everything from climate change cuba but he focused domestically. the economy and jobs his top points. he says things are getting better. we have 11 million jobs that have been created, more than we've ever seen in terms of job growth, but that people are still having trouble with money because wages have not caught up. terrorism, he talked about fighting sooigsisis and getting the authorization for use of force from capitol hill. he also talked about foreign policy things like cuba. as the president put it, you can't ten to do things the same way and expect different results. and he also talked about taxes.ten to do things the same way and expect different re. he wants to raise them on the rich. here's what he said about tax reform. >> they riddled it with giveaways that the super rich don't need while denying breaks to middle class families who do. this year we have an opportunity to change that. >> reporter: republicans do not want to see taxes go up on the wealthy because they say those are the job creato

tracie potts, nbc news washington. >>> a developing story now.est issue of that french satirical magazine "charlie hebdo." this is after the magazine was attacked two weeks ago and printed another cartoon of the prophet muhammad. rioters in niger burned churches. ten people were killed. in pakistan protesters marched, demanding punishment for those who published the cartoons. right now in russia, tens of thousands of people are marching in the streets in protest of that magazine. >>> president obama hasn't even delivered his state of the union address. already it's drawing criticism from republicans. president obama spent the weekend working on that speech. it happens tomorrow. it'll be his first delivered to a capitol controlled by republicans. we do know the president has a huge wish list which includes a tax increase for the rich and more spending on the middle class and poor. republican lawmakers already lining up against the president's unrevealed plan. >> i'll call on this new congress to join me in putting aside the political games and fin

tracie potts is live on capitol hill to tell us what investigators are doing about these threats. >> reporter: well, they're making it in hopes that the threats will stop or they can figure out who is behind them. one thing that we know there, have been no bombs found, but it's a massive disruption. 20 planes just since saturday. they have to divert, off load the planes, all the passengers, all the bags. the fbi is on top of it, but they are concerned, some threats very graphic saying we planted explosives or we are isis we are here. not only is it a problem for the fbi, but it's costly for the airlines. tens of thousands of dollars they spend to ground the planes every time there is a threat. of course they can't afford not to. now, twitter is involved. they suspended at least three accounts that we know of that have been involved. again, the fbi is on top of it. and they also are telling us that they think that these may be pranks or they could be copycats because typically real terrorists don't announce specific plans like this naming specific flights in advance. >> tracie potts l

tracie potts, nbc news, washington. >>> well today, new york will remember political heavy weight and three-term governor mario cuomo. a wake will be held in manhattan this afternoon. cuomo died on thursday. perhaps the most notable moment of mario cuomo's political career came at the 1984 democratic convention in san francisco where he delivered a keynote speech. funeral services are set for tomorrow. >>> former vice presidential candidate sarah palin responding to criticism over a controversial photo of her son trig standing on the family dog. nbc's peter alexander reports. >> reporter: sarah palin is fighting back with a message for peta. chill. the feud was sparked by these photos that palin posted last week of her 6-year-old son trig who has down syndrome stepping on the family dog to reach the kitchen sink. her message read, may 2015 see every stumbling block turned into a steppingstone on the path forward. a day later peta pounced saying she had no sympathy for the dog and the animal rights -- of this bizarrely callous woman. >> they say the difference between a hockey mom and

tracie potts, nbc news, washington. >>> and the start of a new year means the start of a new program for students in camden. this morning five schools in camden are launching something called the positive behavior interventions and supports program. this is a nationwide program that focuses on teaching children how to behave in a classroom as well as on traditional education. this is part of the camden superintendent's 18-month plan to turn that district around. >>> and the president of the vatican's pontifical council will not be in philadelphia to discuss the world meeting of families event as planned. the archbishop postponed his trip to the city because he wants to wait until all elements are in place for the pope's trip to the united states later this year. the archbishop was also supposed to attend a celebration for the feast day of st. john neuman. that event will take place this afternoon. >>> and you may have put away the christmas decorations this weekend and now it's time to recycle the tree. philadelphia's tree recycling program kicks off today. bring your old christmas t