and you can add cable tv to oprah winfrey's favorite things. the media giant is launching her own brand, new network hours from now. will millions of loyal followers follow her? first, severe weather lashes the midwest with deadly results. at least six people have been killed in a series of severe storms that rolled through at least five states friday. three people were killed in northwest arkansas. more on that in a moment. and three more storm victims perished in neighboring missouri. that's where cnn meteorologist jennifer delgado joins us live this morning. good morning, jennifer. >> reporter: good morning, joe. i am live in sunset hills. and this area, reportedly an ef-3 moving through this area. that's according to the national weather service actually touched down in this region and left behind a lot of damage across this area. i want to show you some video that we shot just a short while ago. and this is going to show you that you can see cinder blocks. this is a building that was damaged by this, emergency crews are still out here trying to get things back together. they're working on the power as well as working on securing some of the damaged structures across this region. now, many people across this area said they experienced damage with trees down. but some residents actually have their homes destroyed from yesterday's tornado that struck in the morning. we have sound from a woman who has lost everything. >> everything's gone. we don't -- there's nothing left. maybe a few of my son's toys that i might be able to salvage. but the christmas tree was still up. i mean, everything, everything we had and everything i owned is gone. >> reporter: that's right. you heard her say the christmas tree was still up, but a lot of stuff inside her home was destroyed. i did call the sunset hills police department to find out exactly how many people were displaced, how many families. they say they don't have an exact number. they're hoping to get that a little later on this afternoon. i can tell you this, that governor jay nixon has declared a state of emergency. he's going to come out here later today and survey the damage in addition to the national weather service coming back out here and they're going to look at the possibility of actually the storm being an ef-4, which would make it an even stronger storm system than the ef-3 that the preliminary reports came out yesterday. i want to take you to some more video coming out of rolla, missouri. located about two hours outside of st. louis. and the two people who died in that storm system when that tornado struck down, they were actually in a mobile home. you hear so many people about people dying inside mobile homes and this did, in fact, happen here in the missouri area. joe? >> just brutal damage we're looking at there, jennifer. now, you were in the area. tell us a little bit about that. and what you saw, what you heard. not as much damage where you were precisely, right? >> reporter: absolutely. i was actually in baldwin, and i woke up and heard the storm system pushing through. and reportedly we had a tornado that touched down in baldwin. and that left behind some damage, as well for some homes, trees down, roofs were ripped off. but certainly nothing in comparison to the damage that was left behind here in sunset hills. you have to keep in mind, this is reportedly the strongest tornado that's touched down since 1967. and to give you an idea. you see i'm bundled up here. right now we have temperatures right around 25 degrees, it's cold. yesterday it was the perfect environment for this. we had temperatures in the mid to upper 60s, a very wet, juicy environment, and that fueled the strong storms that pushed through the midwest. joe? >> amazing, temperatures making that much difference in the scenario. thank you so much for that, jennifer delgado. a few hours earlier, it was northwest arkansas that was caught in the severe weather bull's eye. zeroing in on washington county, specifically the small town of cincinnati. just a few miles from the oklahoma border. here three people killed and what the national weather service is confirming was a tornado hit before dawn, giving residents little if any warning. earlier this morning, i spoke with the local red cross. >> the only warning there was the sound of the storm itself. and when you hear that sound, it's too late. a lot of people did not -- and i heard that lot of people saying i wished i would have had a weather radio. we really encourage people year round think about having an emergency weather radio that will sound a siren any time for you. >> and there may be other supplies that you might need in that area. are you getting the kinds of supplies you need beyond the issue of weather radios or what have you? >> yeah, we're getting tons of supplies throughout the state of arkansas. so they're really pulling together and businesses have been great. and we're making sure that everyone out here has a hot meal and a warm place to stay and we'll be setting up today, actually, and meeting with the families one-on-one to talk to them and sit down and help them to begin to plan their steps to recovery. >> and we're not done with the severe weather just yet. we have watches and warnings posted for parts of the south, including alabama's capital. meteorologist reynolds wolf live here with the latest information in the cnn severe weather center. and interesting what jennifer delgado was talking about, the changes in temperature making the atmosphere much more volatile. >> the thing that causes the biggest issue when you go from moist to muggy air to cold and dry air. we have the contrasting air masses, creates a little bit of a boundary. that boundary's called a frontal boundary. and a lot of times it can move in line with a strong jet stream can give you strong storms and quick movers. the people in arkansas yesterday that had their homes flattened in cincinnati. one of the problems they had is very little warning. and when the storm struck at 6:00 in the morning, it was still dark locally, and they were moving along around 40 to 50 miles per hour. if you're behind the wheel of a car going 40 miles per hour to 50 miles per hour. if you step outside your house and see a storm moving in your direction at 40 miles per hour to 50 miles per hour, it's pretty quick. doesn't give you type to take shelter. people in alabama, hopefully they have the word out that we have storms moving through. georgia, alabama, mississippi, louisiana, we've got a tornado watch in effect until 10:00 local time. some strong showers and storms have gone through. and then when you head back into central alabama, just the far northwestern corner of -- let's see thad be chilton county into shelby county. strong storms coming in through there. proceeded by winds due west that will be very strong. meanwhile, and speaking of wind, we've got a lot of it in the northern plains. and that horizontal movement of air is making awful the difference. moving at about 45 to 55 miles per hour. that arctic air is just brutal. grand forks feels like 2 degrees right now. 5 in rapid city, 7 in aberdeen, 1 in sioux falls, and 1 degrees in the twin cities. let me show you the national perspective. here's what we've got. 10 degrees, the expected high for minneapolis, 70 in miami, 67 along the river walk in san antonio. seattle out by pikes about 39 degrees by the late afternoon, maybe a shower, but more rain possible for parts of california including the bay area, but san diego with 63. we've got weather, tons of it to talk about. not enough time. more coming up right ahead. >> i'll take san diego any day. >> go padres. >> you got it. all right. checking up on our top stories. a powerful bomb exploded outside a christian church in alexandria, egypt early this morning. killed at least 21 people. al qaeda threatened to attack egypt's christians, but police don't know if the terrorist group played any role in the bombing. homeland security secretary janet napolitano surprised some american soldiers in kabul spending new year's eve with them. her visit has also strategic significance. she reviewed security operations at a key point along the afghan border along pakistan. her goal is to stop the smuggling of weapons and explosives into afghanistan. the pope's new year's day mass denounced the bombing in egypt. he devoted his message to religious freedom and justice. the pope told the crowd at the vatican his words "we cannot become accustomed to discrimination in justices and religious intolerances." a night of new year's eve celebrations around the world. first stop, new york city. where 1 million people crowded time square to welcome 2011 and take part in one of the world's best known new year's eve festivities. along with the huge crystal ball, which measures 12 feet in diameter, more than a ton of confetti rained down on the crowd. very tight security prevented any major problems. that's what i would call a dazzling fireworks display. lighting up the london skyline at midnight as it welcomed the new year. it drew a crowd of 250,000 people, grateful for the warmer weather. london and much of europe has suffered through bitterly cold weather earlier this winter. this is dubai in the united arab emirates. and this is also the first new year's celebration uses the world's tallest building as the focal point of a huge fireworks extravaganza. the building is more than 2,700 feet tall or just about a little more than 1/2 mile tall. huge. and take a look at the size of the crowd in amsterdam. 40,000 people stood shoulder-to-shoulder ushering in 2011 with a big fireworks show and several musical performances. a new year means new laws affecting everything from political donations to vending machines. we'll open up the law books and walk you through. and the countdown is on. not to new year's, we're talking about oprah winfrey, the queen of all media launches her own cable channel today. what's at stake? will it succeed? we're going to go behind the scenes. but first, here's a look at the new year's festivities in key west, florida. a shoe drop and an extremely festive crowd. [ male announcer ] let's throw down some style. style that lasts a lifetime. what do you say we get the look we want, the softness we need, and an unbeatable lifetime stain warranty for whatever life throws at it. then let's save big on the installation. ♪ we're lowering the cost of going barefoot. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. get exclusive martha stewart living and platinum plus installed in your whole house for only 37 bucks. how'd you do that? do what? it tastes too good to be fiber. you made it taste like chocolate. it has 35% of your daily value of fiber. do it again. turn it into something tasty. this guy's doing magic. there's chocolate chips in here now. how'd you do that? right! tasty fiber, that's a good one! ok, umm...read her mind. what's she thinking? that's right! i'm not thinking anything! [ male announcer ] fiber one chewy bars. cardboard no. delicious yes. oprah winfrey is celebrating the new year today. with the launch of her new basic cable network that's called the oprah winfrey network or o.w.n. and that has us talking about what's at stake and will it succeed? kareen wynter takes a look behind the scenes. >> the day millions of oprah winfrey fans have been waiting for. the launch of her very own cable tv network. >> it all begins here. >> reporter: it's arguably the most ambitious endeavor of her career. a 24-hour television channel dedicated entirely to the vision of oprah winfrey. >> i could take every hero who inspired me. >> the launch of o.w.n. is a huge deal in the television business. >> reporter: tv expert matthew belleni says he knows what the greatest strength and challenge will be. >> she has a huge advantage in launching a network because she is a brand. the danger is that the programming may not live up to the brand. i mean, that's the big question mark. >> reporter: here's how oprah plans to answer that question. >> this is a time for new beginnings. and ask oprah's all-stars. >> everybody has a story. >> reporter: master class profiles eight world icons. season 25 takes fans behind the scenes of oprah's hit talk show while "big bowl of love" invites viewers inside the kitchen of christina farrari. and for those who love clutter, peter walsh has enough already. >> this is a show that looks at people's stuff, but gives them a road map out of this overwhelming amount of clutter in their house. >> and so many new networks fail. why do you think this one is different? >> people want -- want to be the best they can be. people want heroes. people want inspiration. here at last is a level of programming that brings people that. >> there are a lot of critics out there, and i personally don't understand -- why wouldn't you have this kind of programming when today all you see are those shows about housewives pulling each other's hair? >> i know it's easy to be cynical or skeptical, but i for one am so excited about what's going to happen when that -- that switch is flipped. >> the switch gets flipped new year's day when viewers will decide whether they will shine a light on o.w.n. >> and the first pishl program on o.w.n. airs on new year's day, a two-hour special hosted by oprah herself. it's going to be called oprah's guide to o.w.n. only two will remain on the network, "deliver me" and "mystery diagnosis." >> kareen wynter, thanks for that. it's the app that lets you phone home and sometimes you might see something quite unexpected. and forget the ball, in georgia it's all about the peach. crowds packed into the streets of atlanta to watch the state's most famous fruit drop into 2011. [ male announcer ] let's be honest. no one ever wished for a smaller holiday gift. ♪ it's the lexus december to remember sales event, and for a limited time, we're celebrating some of our greatest offers of the year. lease the 2011 is 250 for $349 a month for 36 months with $3,399 due at signing. see your lexus dealer. ♪ yeah, somebody just might be watching you. got a burglar? there's an app for that. here's reporter kevin turez with kusa. >> there he is. >> what a day. >> creepy, creepy guy. >> what a night for that matter. >> last night just my roommate and i did not sleep. >> it started tuesday morning. claire was away, left her computer on and connected to its camera through an application on her phone called icam. >> and you can have up to four going. >> she uses it to check in on her dog at work. instead of seeing her dog tuesday, she saw this man, a burglar rummaging through her stuff. >> there's so much stuff he could've taken. it's so odd he didn't take it. >> reporter: he did get away with a few ipods and electronics, a couple hundred bucks to be exact. last night we showed the video during this exact newscast. and the result was promising. >> last night, somebody was watching channel 9 and they saw -- i guess they were able to see his face from the footage that was there. i know it wasn't awesome or anything, but they called and tipped it in and he was able to get picked up. >> that information was given to claire by a detective with denver police. >> he was like, i believe, we have your perp in custody. he says he didn't take anything and that he just walked around and looked in your house. and i was like, oh, all right. well, that's interesting because i have like the feed of him actually putting my ipod in his bag. >> claire is grateful to the viewer who spotted the man. knowing she'll be able to sleep safe and sound tonight. in denver, this is kevin torez, 9 news. along with the new year comes a long list of new laws affecting everything from vending machines to trash to plants. and one set of laws is linked to former illinois governor rob blagojevich. >> we have so many laws in this country as you know, joe. it's incredible how many laws we have. and every time you start a new cycle, there's a couple cycles during the year. always on january 31st, you have a bunch. and a set of new laws in illinois where they have a new set of campaign finance reform laws partly because of this actually signed into law on the anniversary of the arrest of former governor rod blagojevich. this new law is basically setting financial limits on how much money you can give to a candidate. it says individuals can give a candidate up to $5,000 in one election cycle. groups like unions, political action committees are limited to $10,000. a lot of states have laws like that. illinois did not. and there's a reputation surrounding illinois politics. and some think this will change that. let's take a look at something that will affect the whole country. vending machines. this is part of the new health care reform legislation president obama signed into law. operators with 20 or more vending machines now will have to disclose calorie content for some items they sell out of those machines. here's another one. fsas, this is nationally. you might have seen or heard about this at work. your flexible spending account will no longer cover over-the-counter drugs unless they're prescribed by a doctor. america's been saving a lot of money by not paying on taxes for the money for those drugs. that's gone. joe, you live in maryland. >> yeah. >> here's that news law that could affect you. if you get pulled over by a police officer while driving, you know, they give you a ticket and put a trial date on it. well, no longer. now you will be invited to request a trial date later on. >> february 31st. >> nice. >> can't do that, right? >> well, you know the thinking is. that people basically wait until the day before the trial to call in and pay their ticket. and by that point, it's already on the schedule for the officer who's expecting the trial. they're hoping if people do this instead, it'll get them to call, reduce that problem. >> indiana, you can no longer trash electronics. it's illegal, you can be punished. if you have an ancient walkman, a toaster, you can't wrap it up, put it in the trash. it's illegal now. there are programs for collecting and recycling. and finally, one of my favorites, i saw this in news day. illegal plants in nassau county, new york, honey suckle is one of the plants added. it's something like introducing these problems into storm drains is causing problems. it's invasive, and there's a few other plants that somehow made it on to that list. >> that's amazing. now, i've got to tell you, though, that fsa law, there are a lot of people who complained about that. because, you know, you could save yourself some money by going and buying benadryl or whatever with your fsa card, but no more. >> americans have been saving a lot of money in taxes by taking advantage of that opportunity, right. you still had to pay, but it was tax-free money and that part's being taken away. and people need to be more careful with their fsas. my facebook and twitter at josh levs cnn, a lot of people saying what you're saying there. >> you bet. hey, thanks so much, josh levs. >> thank you. we know how the holiday travel season started. cold, treacherous, filled with delays. what can people expect as they come home this weekend? we'll give you a live update. and aching stomach, aching head, that means you partied too hard, right? what really works, we'll separate truth from fiction coming up. your eyes are not playing tricks on you. that is a huge acorn. and that's the way raleigh, north carolina, rolls. welcoming in the new year. happy new year, raleigh. uh-oh. 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[ male announcer ] stop the uh-oh fast with kao. welcome back, i'm joe johns in for t.j. holmes. thanks for starting your year with us. checking the top stories. egypt's president says the church bombing that killed at least 21 people targeted both christians and muslims. a bomb exploded outside a church in alexandria, egypt, early this morning, more than 70 people were wounded. a nearby mosque was also damaged in the bombing. eight people were wounded. homeland security secretary janet napolitano is spending new year's eve in kabul. she reviewed security operations at a key point along the afghan border with pakistan. her goal to stop the smuggling of weapons and explosives into afghanistan. welcoming 2011 new york city style. more than 1 million people in time square and around the world watched the ball drop. arguably the most famous new year's celebration on the planet. more than a ton of confetti also rained down on the crowd. very tight security prevented any major problems. happy new year, but unfortunately not everywhere. that's especially true in northwest arkansas where three people died yesterday when a powerful tornado roared through the area. a few hours later, the storms nailed the greater st. louis area. two people are killed in dent county, another near rolla. the governor is set to tour both sites later this morning. further west, it's winter weather that's hobbling colorado springs. look at the bumper car derby this out of control pickup truck had on icy incline roads. does not look that steep until you have no traction. by the way, the weather was so bad at the annual pikes peak fireworks show was canceled due to the weather. that's a tradition that dates back all the way to the 1920s. reynolds wolf is live now in the cnn severe weather center with the latest. no fireworks for the garden of the god's, i guess. >> pretty interesting there to say the least. rude awakening for people of alabama this morning. it is, again, just mind-numbing to see the storm system, part of the same system that caused the problems in arkansas and missouri where much of both of those states got hit with a sledge hammer. but right now, strong storms developing across alabama. central birmingham right now. you can see the areas we have with the tornado watch in parts of georgia, alabama, mississippi, into louisiana. now the strongest of it leaving parts of alabama, about to move into chilton county. if you're in huntsville, you're in the clear. farther to the north, more showers coming in right behind it. although we're really talking about the strong storms in parts of the southeast, it is the winter weather in portions of the northeast, or rather the northern plains that is just mind numbing. some of these temperatures single digits, at least that's what it feels like when you have the wind factoring in with the colder air. you'll notice these areas shaded in orange, the blizzard warnings in effect through mid-morning. quick check of what to expect around the nation. i know some people will be traveling today. if you're traveling, you might have delays in places like atlanta, over into charlotte, perhaps buffalo, new york, or cleveland in some of the regional airports. out to the west, same thing in san francisco, you might have backups. your weather, got the blizzards up in parts of minneapolis. 10 degrees will be the daytime high, 45 in new york, 67 in san antonio, 26 in denver, and 39 in seattle. san diego, 63, fairly comfortable out. there as we fast forward into tomorrow's forecast, looks like temperatures will be a little bit warmer, 41 for portland, 53 in dallas, and 46 in boston. you've been caught up on your travel. i'm going to send it back over to you, joe, with more. >> that's the thing we want to talk about next. how many people actually are going to travel today, tomorrow -- let's turn now to cnn's samantha hayes live at a maryland rest stop off of one of the busiest interstates in the country. i look at either maryland or somewhere around jessop. where are you? >> i'm at maryland house, joe. aberdeen, maryland. i'm north of baltimore. and yes, the interstate behind me, that's 95. now that the sun's up, traffic is certainly picking up on that interstate. a few weeks ago in december, the auto club aaa estimated that there's going to be an increase in the number of people, number of americans traveling over christmas and new year's this year, up 3%. 93 million americans traveling at least 50 miles or so. many of them will be making that trek this weekend. probably more on sunday than today. but nevertheless, certainly a lot of people driving over this holiday season. more than 93% will be in their cars getting to their destination, going to and fro. the holiday last night, new year's eve. aaa also says americans are spending more, joe. over christmas and over new year's, an average of $670. so that's also up. so some of these things are good for the economy. now, i want to point out that perhaps this isn't correlated, but they may be spending more money on gas because as you probably noticed in many parts of the country, gas is now at least $3 a gallon and going up. and some analysts expect it to go up even more perhaps $4 even $5. hopefully that won't happen. but as we get into spring, perhaps some motorists may reconsider going by car or maybe going as far. joe? >> well, it certainly looked like a beautiful day as blossoming there on the first of january. is it pretty cold outside? how is it feeling there in maryland? >> reporter: joe, let me tell you, i'm so thankful it is not freezing cold. i don't know the exact temperature, but i think it's supposed to get up around 50 degrees or so today. but you know january 1st is usually just frigid. and this is pretty nice. the roads are clear, it's dry, that's also certainly -- i'm sure a lot of drivers are thankful for that, especially after last weekend, you know. so many folks caught in airports because of bad weather. may have considered driving instead of flying after that experience. but yeah, this is at least in this part of the country, this is a good travel day. >> cnn's samantha hayes out there in maryland for us. thanks so much, samantha. >> reporter: you got it. a public inauguration will be held today for new york's new governor andrew cuomo. he was sworn into a private mansion ceremony last night. his family was in attendance, including his wife and father mario who served as new york's governor for three terms. congress heads back to work in a few days and they'll have plenty on their plates when they return to capitol hill. let's bring in our deputy political director paul steinhauser. happy new year to you. >> thank you, joe. >> let's talk a little bit about the spirit of compromise. this has been going back and forth between republicans and democrats now that there is a republican-controlled house at least as of wednesday. we found the lame duck session that holiday spirit is -- was pretty good. but the question is whether you think it's going to linger once the republicans take control of the house. >> you know, americans, joe, they want it to linger. just about every public opinion poll says americans want the democrats and republicans to compromise. but it may not be that easy. and you just mentioned i think a big reason why. you've got the 112th congress getting sworn in on wednesday. and in that new congress, john boehner and the republicans will control the house of representatives. and boehner will have a large majority in the house of representatives. and in the senate, it's a similar story, as well. a little different, but the republicans will have a much stronger minority and the democrats will have a smaller majority in the senate. and these republican lawmakers, a lot of them are more conservative and a lot of them were backed but tea party activists in the campaign in the midterm elections. joe, there'll be probably less of a desire for the new lawmakers to compromise with the democrats in congress and with the white house. >> you know, there is an expectation that there will be a showdown between the house republicans and the white house at least over the issue of government spending. we've heard a lot of republicans say we're not going to have a shutdown of the government. so any sense of how the republicans are going to demonstrate their concerns about spending with the president and get his attention on this issue if they're not going to shut down the government? >> yep. the new incoming house speaker john boehner says he'll have a vote a week in the house of representatives on that alone. on places where they can cut spending because of the large massive deficit. and that's one of the things -- another reason why we may not see so much compromise. we put a graphic together of some of the big issues you are going to see coming up very early. and as you mentioned, the deficit right there, that's one of the top three. of course, and tackling that massive government deficit. what about the budget itself? remember, the lame duck when they passed that budget, it's only temporary. they're going to have to pass a new budget, raising the debt ceiling for the country. and they promised to pass legislation that would try to repeal the new health care law. on all four of these big topics, not much compromise and common ground. and that was pretty much a different story. in the lame duck, a lot of issues that passed there that were willing to work together were issues where both sides agreed on don't ask, don't tell, are peeling that law on the tax cut compromise and, you know, a few of the other things concluding the s.t.a.r.t. missile treaty. i don't think there'll be nearly as much common ground because of the issues in the new congress, joe. >> quickly, there's a pretty good little pop culture issue brewing too. i've heard some talk that the house of representatives is actually discussing the idea of bringing things like ipads and iphones to the floor of the house. but it could be controversial. is that what you're hearing? >> yep. the republican leadership wants to allow that to happen. of course, they're going to have to have a vote to change the rules and some lawmakers a no, not a good idea. they don't want these devices on the floor of the house. they think it may be too disruptive. we'll see. >> tradition dies hard at the united states capitol. thanks so much, paul steinhauser, our deputy political director. ringing in the new year, there are customs and traditions unique to each country. some of them downright bizarre. now another look. but first, the city by the bay, the one made famous by singer tony bennett put on quite a fireworks show to welcome in the new year. some grumbled over a zero tolerance policy about public drinking, but anybody who did drink too much was offered a free ride on public transportation. my joints ache so bad, i wake up in pain every day. i want to know why. i want to know why my hair is falling out. how did this happen? how did this happen? a little pain in my knee. that's how it started. that's how it started, this rash on my face. now it's like my body is attacking me. i want answers. announcer: when you don't have the right answers, it may be time to ask your doctor the right question. could i have lupus? we've seen some elaborate fireworks displays and various things dropping from the air from a crystal ball to a huge flea. not kidding. but daylight brings new year's day parades. you're looking live at london. the parade there involved 8,000 performers from a variety of nations, many from the u.s., including some popular marching bands. this is the silver anniversary of the parade. its route will pass some of the city's most famous landmarks. westminster abbey and others. celebrating the new year, lots of different ways to do it. and around the world, people have all kinds of unusual traditions. nadia has unusual stories during our last hour. more stuff for us now. and this will be very challenging. >> joe, some people like to burn things. so they like to burn effigy and in netherlands they burn their christmas tree. you symbolically burn the last year for the new year. just start again. it's like you burn grass so that green grass grows. i like that idea. now, in japan, which by the way akmashto amedito, happy new year in japanese. >> i'll remember that. >> exactly. and people start the new year by laughing. they say let's be joyous, they also throw rope on their front door as a sign of good will. but my favorite is spain. because they take 12 grapes. we have 12 grapes prepared for you. now -- we don't know what's going to happen. but i will give you the instructions. but in madrid at the time the clock goes, you have to have your grapes ready. and what we're going to do on this segment, we'll have a buzzer that starts and we have to try to eat all 12 grapes in the 12 seconds. most people don't manage to do it. don't be upset because i know you're very competitive. let's try. and as the buzzer stops -- >> can i do a handful at once? >> buzzer go. >> here we go. >> we've got to get 12 in. it's going to go, then we stop. >> hey, wait a minute. >> i have three left. you? >> five. >> gosh, that's hard. where did you find grapes on new year's day in cnn center? >> we have beautiful producers called nester and richard and they do anything for us. >> that's unbelievable. thanks, i would have preferred protein, but this was pretty good. >> i can get you protein afterwards. after a hangover the best thing to do is to have eggs. >> really? >> yes. there's a compound in eggs and apparently it's the cure-all. >> that's excellent. and so it's not hair of the dog? >> not hair of the dog. that is a myth. it may be a grape or two. >> happy new year. >> happy new year. >> all right, thanks. a concussion could sideline bret favre for tomorrow's game. i've got your wow moments in sports if i don't choke. this was the scene in seattle, washington, at the stroke of midnight. fireworks blasting off on top of the city's famous space needle. it was a massive show that lasted eight minutes. tens of thousands of people turned out to watch. [ male announcer ] let's throw down some style. style that lasts a lifetime. what do you say we get the look we want, the softness we need, and an unbeatable lifetime stain warranty for whatever life throws at it. then let's save big on the installation. ♪ we're lowering the cost of going barefoot. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. get exclusive martha stewart living and platinum plus installed in your whole house for only 37 bucks. oh, man. >> going back to the high school days. >> we have the greatest music on this show. i love this. check out this video. this boy's parents knew what they were doing when they named him jordan. wow. that's amazing. 12 years old, there's nothing he can't do with a basketball. his name is jordan, he's from seattle, dribbles like a pro. that's just -- wow. >> i'm quitting tv to become his agent. >> he definitely needs an agent if he doesn't have one. incredible. >> what about his jumper? >> he's got a jumper. >> i think a little bit later in this video, he can shoot the rock like nobody. >> well, you know what? i mean, what nba scouts will do, they're probably down there at his door right now. >> they might be recruiting. we're not going to get into the whole recruiting thing. >> we're not going to go there. ray d'alessio from cnn sports joining me now. we're talking about the wow moments in sports. and what everybody's talking about is brett favre. is he going to get out there? is he done? he has a what? a physical coming up. >> right now he is listed as doubtful for tomorrow's game. he still has yet to pass the post-concussion test a couple of weeks ago on that monday night game against the bears. suffered a concussion. he is still not passed those post concussion tests. and leslie frazier yesterday, he was pretty much, you know, skating the questions. he said, i'm going to list him as doubtful, but he's yet to pass those tests. they're going to make a decision today on it. and look, put aside all the controversy, joe. this is one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to put on the uniform. i would hate to see him -- i love watching him play. i hate to see him finish his last game on the sidelines. >> but you know, the funny thing about this if you look at it in total. is the minnesota vikings had an amazing season last year. it seemed like everything went right for them. this year, they can't even keep snow out of their stadium. >> no. and, of course -- >> everything bad that can happen -- >> and people don't believe favre when he says this is last year. he's playing on a broken foot, had the concussion, he doesn't have the talent around him that he had last year. he is -- how this guy is even walking and not on crutches is beyond me. he's too banged up, 20th year in the league. he's done, he's finished, he's going to retire and you would hate to see the guy go out on the sidelines. you would like to see him play one more game. forget about the personal stuff and the controversy. takes nothing away with what he did on the field. >> hall of fame for sure. the granddaddy of them all, the rose bowl happening today. everybody's going to want to watch that. what are we looking for? what's the story line? >> you've got wisconsin and tcu, texas christian university. but so much focus on tcu. these guys are out to prove they belong with the big dogs. of course, they're a small school. and there's redemption on the mind. last year they went into the fiesta bowl, 12-0, lost to boise state. this year, they're once again undefeated going into the rose bowl. out to prove, yes, we can go up against a bigger, stronger opponent like wisconsin and beat them. so it should be very interesting. they're the prime example of why i believe there should be a playoff in college football. >> two years in a row. >> two years in a row they've been shut out of the bcs national championship. >> and bcs is still quite a few days away. >> four weeks away? >> yeah, seems like it. i've lost track. >> there's too many bowl games. let's do a playoff system and incorporate the bowl games and be done with it and there wouldn't be all this controversy. but it is fun to talk about. >> you got it. >> you bet. let's get the college football forecast on this new year's day. reynolds wolf in the severe weather center. active morning for parts of the deep south, louisiana, alabama, mississippi, any others? >> i'm telling you what, thankfully where we have a lot of the big games taking place, the weather conditions should be perfect. unfortunately for half the teams, it'll be 100% chance for pain, others, picture perfect. let's get started with the ticket city bowl. >> the what? >> the ticket city bowl. this is what ray was talking about. 48 degrees, partly cloudy, that one in dallas. not sure if that's the jerry dome. i assume it is. the capital one bowl game, not far from the mouse house, 78 degrees, mostly sunny skies. 21 for mississippi state and michigan. 75 will be your temperature for the kickoff. and this one peaks my interest, tcu, that's going to be in pasadena, 62 degrees, mostly sunny skies and number seven, oklahoma and connecticut 24 degrees for the tostitos fiesta bowl. >> it's coming up. >> absolutely. >> i'm surprised there's not like a cereal bowl or a dog bowl -- >> or the meteorologist bowl. >> yeah. >> we'll pick teams. >> thanks. after a miserable 2009 -- they broke out the hats, floor traders and investors in 2010 with something to sing about. we'll look back at the year's business highs and lows and find out what 2011 might hold. i love this. >> i know, man, right? >> that's what i'm talking about. you can let a traffic jam ruin your day, or you can turn it into a party. georgia drivers dancing in the street. so did wall street and the economy end 2010 on a high note? here is the answer with two members of the cnn business team alison kosik and poppy harlow. start with you, alison. >> hi, joe. no santa claus rally this year. instead, a quiet week to close out a positive year for the stock market. overall, the dow gained 11% in 2010. the nasdaq jumped nearly 17%. and the broader s&p 500 rose almost 13%. new claims for unemployment benefits fell below 400,000 for the first time since july 2008. analysts believe that claims have to hold below 400,000 in order to bring down the jobless rate. but many are worried that claims will go back up after many temp workers hired for the holidays go back on unemployment. and mastercard spending poll said that holiday spending rose by more than 5% from 2009. that was helped by a more than 15% jump in spending online. that's a look at the week that was. here's poppy harlow with a look at the week ahead. poppy? >> thanks so much, alison. well, the economy certainly issue number one in 2010 and it will be again in 2011 given the continuing unemployment crisis in this country. and looking ahead to next week on wall street, the first official trading week of 2011, we'll get december sales results from individual retailers. all signs pointing to solid gains thanks to holiday shopping. and the big number of the week comes out on friday. that's when we get the december jobs report. analysts expect a gain of about 110,000 jobs for the end of the month. but unemployment is expected to remain stubbornly high at 9.8%. and you may have heard this expression as goes january, so goes the year. a gain for stocks for the first five days in january has led to a positive return for the full year, more than 80% of the time. so here's hoping for a great first week and a prosperous 2011. joe, back to you. ♪ forget about martha and the vandellas, this is a real life version. call it making the best out of a bad situation. would be new year's eve partiers caught in a bumper-to-bumper traffic jam that shut down a suburban atlanta road, so they turned up the volume. happy new year, but unfortunately not everywhere. that's especially true in northwest arkansas where three people died yesterday when a powerful tornado roared through the area. a few hours later, the storms nailed the greater st. louis area. two people were killed in dent county. another near rolla county. missouri's governor is set to tour both sites later today. further west, it's winter weather that's hobbling colorado springs. look at the bumper car derby this out of control pickup truck had on this icy road. by the way, the weather was so bad, the annual pikes peak fireworks show was canceled due to the weather. reynolds wolf is now live here in the cnn center with the very latest. and it's rough out there. >> it really is. mother nature's like a heavy weight boxer with a right and left. the right is going to be tornado activity. and that's what we have in the southeast. see this area lined in by that red line. that happens to be your tornado watch in effect until 10:00 local time. and you can see the reason why. let's zoom in on parts of alabama. we've got that tornado watch in effect for parts of georgia, back into alabama, back into portions of even mississippi and louisiana. and they're plain as day. you happen to see the reds. some of your most intense thunderstorm activity at this time. we zoom in towards chilton county, you can see in the clear for the time being. one wave coming through. get ready, it's on the way, goodwater, headed right for you, the bulk of it's still back towards birmingham, towards the magic city. everything rolling up red mountain and driving eastward. along this frontal boundary, you can expect a couple of things. expect the brain, the possibility of tornadoes, and of course, strong winds. strong winds also a factor in parts of the northern plains where we have plenty of snow on the ground. the winds would gust anywhere from 45 to 55 miles per hour. could create whiteout conditions for parts of the dakotas and back into minnesota. that's when we have the blizzard warning in effect, more of a visibility feature where it could be down to 1/10 of a mile or zero at some point. currently feels like 3 in aberdeen, 4 in minneapolis, and 17 in parts of thunder bay, minnesota. we've got a lot to talk about. we'll be here all morning long as the storms chug through the southeast and of course as that winter storm continues to rage in the northern plains, joe. >> yeah, those winds are something else. the thing that's interesting, though, is even here in atlanta, it was pretty warm when i got in here last night. >> very much so. >> it's sort of deceiving. >> absolutely. the hammer's going to fall. absolutely. checking top stories. a night of new year's eve celebrations around the world. in new york city, a million people crowded time square to welcome 2011 and take part in one of the world's best known new year's eve festivities. along with the crystal ball that measures 12 feet in diameter. more than a ton of confetti rained down on the ground. very tight security prevented any major problems. a powerful bomb exploded outside a christian church in alexandria, egypt this morning. it killed at least 21 people and wounded up to four times as many. al qaeda had threatened to attack egypt's christian, but police don't know if the terrorists played any role in this bombing. janet napolitano surprised some american soldiers in kabul spending new year's eve with them. her visit also has strategic significance. she reviewed security operations at a key point along the afghan border with pakistan. her goal, to stop the smuggling of weapons and explosives into afghanistan. president obama rang in the new year in hawaii where he's vacationing with his family. when he gets back to washington, he will be tackling key spending issues and working with a new congress no longer completely dominated by democrats. here's senior cnn white house correspondent ed henry. >> reporter: to hear the president tell it, bickering with republicans is so 2010. >> a lot of folks in this town predicted that after the midterm elections, washington would be headed for more partisanship and more gridlock. and instead, this has been a season of progress. that's a message that i will take to heart in the new year. and i hope my democratic and republican friends will do the same. >> but with the republican john boehner taking the speaker's gavel, that rosy scenario will be tested immediately in 2011. because both parties will now have to agree on a long-term budget. after kicking the can down the road on all those spending cuts the tea party was demanding and the president's own death panel was proposing to no avail. >> i expect we'll have a robust debate about this when we return from the holidays. a debate that will have to answer an creasingly urgent question. and that is how do we cut spending that we don't need while still making investments that we do need? >> with the federal cash register tapped out, it will be especially difficult to tackle the biggest issue of all. >> my single focus over the next two years is not rescuing the economy from potential disaster, but rather jump starting the economy so that we actually start making a dent in the unemployment rate. >> reporter: mr. obama also may face resistance to his economic plans from both liberals still smarting from the tax cut and republicans trying to repeal his health care law. >> let's figure out how we deal with some of these very, very difficult issues. whether it's tax policy or whether it's going to be what we're going to be doing on spending. we've got enough that we need to do that we don't need to get weighted down in the partisan politics. >> reporter: music to the ears of white house aides trying to hammer the message that republicans now have a responsibility to govern. >> they can't afford any longer to just simply sit and say no. they have to be part of a constructive conversation. >> reporter: white house officials say the president has started at least some work on his state of the union address, which should be at the end of january. and we should expect a big theme to be exactly what you just heard from robert gibbs. now that republicans run at least half of congress, they have an obligation to meet the president half way on some of these big issues, especially the economy. ed henry, cnn, honolulu. so the president certainly has a long to do list. we'll ask two political insiders how the white house will navigate a republican-heavy congress. and the impact of the unofficial start of the 2012 presidential race. but we can't give you more time. so hurry in now because the great holiday offers on most chevy models absolutely end january 3rd. that's 0% financing... plus $1500 holiday allowance plus no monthly payments for 4 months. so get to your chevy dealer now before this deal like the holidays is over. hurry in and get no monthly payments till spring plus 0% apr financing and fifteen- hundred holiday allowance on this traverse. see your local chevy dealer now. don't want to deal with a lot of flibbity-flab or mumbo-jumbo. sounds like you need to name your price. no gobbledy-gook? never. do i still get all the dagnabbit coverage i need? sure. we give you a quote and you can adjust your price up and down to find something that works for you. ♪ this thing is okey-mcsmokey skiddly-doo. great! i think. diggity. oh! still not sure. the "name your price" tool. only from progressive. call or click today. 2011 is now officially underway, can you believe that? it's time to talk politics. let's bring in two friends of kr cnn weekend morning. lennie mcalister and maria cardona. so a lot of them out there on the republican side. who do you all consider the front runners? let's start with you. actually, we probably start with you, lennie. >> happy new year to everybody. hey, maria. i -- >> hey, lennie. as far as front runners, i don't know if anybody's out there clear cut yet. we see mike huckabee kind of putting his name out there a little bit when it comes back to this health care reform. and everybody keeps throwing out romney. people continue to throw out sarah palin saying i don't see her actually running for the presidency. even though i do think the visit to haiti a little while back was a presidential-type of move. i think that was part of her feeling out process more than anything else. i don't see her being a serious candidate. and there is a strong risk that we may not even see that republican front runner yet. if we go back four years ago, john mccain's name was not being bantered about, it was rudy giuliani who was going to gain the nomination. and sure enough, it ended up being mccain. so we may see something similar coming up for 2012. >> maria, let's talk very briefly. what do you see as an effective challenge to this president who will be an incumbent, obviously, in the next election? the next challenger -- what kind of message is going to be most effective in getting some votes? >> well, i think that that is actually the biggest question for republicans, joe. because right now, what we're seeing with the field and i agree with lennie, it is too early to tell. but there is nobody that really rises to the occasion in terms of really -- really challenging this president with his popularity right now after an incredibly successful lame duck session. so i think this it is going to be a big challenge for republicans. but i think voters will be looking for somebody who is going to put politics as usual aside and is going to do exactly what voters talked about wanting after the 2010 elections. and president obama said it in your senate piece which is wanting to work together both parties to try to find solutions to the country's greatest problems. we saw the president doing that during the lame duck session, part of the reason why it was so successful. we'll see if republicans can meet him half way with this new congress, which is, again, a big challenge because the new class that's coming in, you know, a lot of it is tea party activists who really have no interest in negotiating with the president or with democrats. but that's what i think voters are going to be looking for from both parties. >> it's been said this part of an election cycle when you're a year out from the primary year, it's all about the potential candidates making sure they don't make big mistakes. and therefore, disqualifying themselves. what do you see as the land mine some of those republican hopefuls have to stay away from? >> extremism. absolutely extremism. if they get caught up in the tea party momentum of campaigning and they don't show the ability to govern, they're going to be seen as an extreme candidate that can't win in november. now that you see that they are tea party candidates that can win in november, they have to have the image of a victor. they can't have the image of the person that's shouting outside the building frustrated because the people won't let them in. the people are in now. the activists that felt like they're the grass roots that are not involved are now involved and some of them are going to be governing starting this month, starting monday. if you do not show that you can have real solutions and move forward and still in that complaining mode, campaigning mode versus government and leading, it's not going to be enough to carry momentum into 2012. you're not going to be serious as a fund-raiser or a legitimate candidate. >> maria, let's talk a little bit more about these presidential challengers, the potential ones, at least. take a look at a couple cnn opinion research polls taken in october. they asked about a race between president obama and one-time presidential candidate mike huckabee. in that match-up, huckabee wins 52% to 44%. against palin the president wins by the same margin. 52% to 44%. what does that tell you about the upcoming campaign? >> well, i think that what that says is that it's all influx right now. and i would -- i would actually challenge everybody and say -- and i've seen this in some more recent polls is that president obama right now after the success of the lame duck session actually bests all of the candidates right now being put up on the republican side. this poll was taken in october, i think that has changed. but everything is so fluid right now, joe, that it really is difficult to say, but the biggest challenge to republicans is to try to find that one candidate to be able to, a, win the primary, and we know voters are way to the right in terms of the republican party, to be able to win the primary, win the tea party voters but also show thaur going to be able to be a mainstream candidate and appeal to independents and the big coalition that republicans are going to need in order to win in 2012. and one of the biggest challenges there is to win latino voters. we saw latinos voted overwhelmingly for democrats and republicans face a huge challenge with this incredibly important and growing demographic in 2012. >> all right. very quickly -- >> joe -- >> go ahead. go ahead. >> it's interesting with that poll, as well. you see that poll being made about two former governors that are now media personalities. i'd like to see what that poll looks like in 2012 when they have to become politicians all over again how the president -- that's where it's going to come into play. is america going to vote for somebody who is active in politics or somebody that's active in activism going against the president? those polls will show us where america wants to move in 2012. >> we will see. very good questions, and i think hopefully we'll get the answers in the weeks and months ahead. thanks for you both coming in on new year's day and happy new year's to you. >> thank you, joe. happy new year. >> happy new year to you, joe and marie. about last night, you hit those drinks too hard, you hit them fast, now you're hurting. open your eyes, pay attention, we're testing out hangover remedies. in nashville, tennessee, the home of country music and the self-proclaimed music city usa. you might have expected a 10-foot gibson guitar to fall at midnight, and it did, triggering a huge fireworks display over the city. another person calling for her grandmother. she thinks it's her soup huh? i'm told she's in the garden picking herbs. she is so cute. okay i'll hold. she's holding. wha? (announcer) progresso. you gotta taste this soup. i'm hugh jidette. as president, i promise your taxes will help build roads, bridges and schools. oh not here, overseas. i'll keep using your taxes to pay over one hundred billion dollars a year in interest to foreign lenders, helping their economy. hurting ours. i'm hugh jidette, let's keep borrowing. oweno, let's not. with a plan we can stop sending billions to foreign lenders, grow our economy and meet our needs. visit oweno.com to stop hugh jidette. we've been watching scenes like this from around the world all morning. lots of parties, lots of food, and yes, lots of liquor. this morning millions are probably paying for it with one huge hangover. so the question now is, how do you get rid of that hangover? for some answers, joining us this morning via skype from new york city is editor in chief and co-author of "the nine rooms of happiness," lucy vanziger. thank you for coming in, i hope you don't have a hangover. go ahead, what did you say, lucy? >> i was going to say, we don't want people to feel bad about having fun on new year's eve, but if they feel bad, we're here to help. >> you're waking up, little groggy, got that bad feeling. what are the first steps you've got to take? >> okay. well, "self" asked dr. oz for his best hangover cures and the first thing he said was eat eggs. because the eggs are going to fight something that is that toxin that makes you feel so terrible. so if you eat eggs, the first thing you're going to do is start breaking down that toxin. that's great news. >> all right. and there's this other issue of the hair of the dog that bit you. also people talk about greasy foods, there's not a consensus. i've even heard about hangover pills. what do you think? any of these things work? >> hair of the dog, complete myth. the first thing you're trying to do is metabolize the alcohol through the system. you need broth and bananas to replace salt and potassium. mint tea will settle the stomach, o.j., fructose will help metabolize some of the alcohol. if you're in a lot of pain, take ibprofin. i like to tell people to hit the gym because they're going to feel better when they start moving. that's going to get the good hormones going. little yoga, little jog might help out. but we've got to be honest, you're going to start drinking again today, we've got something to do beforehand to not feel as bad again. >> that leads into the next question. you can actually make the hangover less intense really before it gets underway. but how do you do that? >> yes. okay. so think about how you're feeling now. if you want to avoid that, eat something before you drink. because your body's going to metabolize alcohol much easier if you have some food in your system. have a turkey burger or whole wheat bun, something healthy. that'll help your small intestine deal with the alcohol when you do drink. and choose pale spirits. the dark ones cause some of that pain you're experiencing right now. vodka, gin, white wine, much better choice. >> these are some of the best tips i've ever heard about hangover. and thank you so much for giving them. >> well, the other thing is -- before you -- before you turn in, wash up. because alcohol will suppress the immune system, and you picked up germs in the bar and the cab home. you don't want to get sick, feel sick, wash up, drink water, stay hydrated. and tomorrow, don't set the alarm. because you're going to need that sleep to feel a lot better. so, you know, take good care of yourself and enjoy what you're doing. but, you know, these steps will really help make you feel better today, tomorrow, and after 2011. >> this is just fantastic stuff. thanks so much, lucy danziger who may be in the hangover capital of the world right now, new york city. we appreciate it. >> that's right. >> all right. >> have a great day. >> you too. for more on how to cure that hangover headache, go to cnn.com/health. we'll take a final look at our top stories after the break. and in carlsbad, california, came early, the giant brick fell at 6:00 p.m. local because kids just can't stay up until midnight. uh-oh. [ male announcer ] when diarrhea hits, kaopectate stops it fast. powerful liquid relief speeds to the source. fast. [ male announcer ] stop the uh-oh fast with kao. taking a look at our top stories. today, officials in virginia are expected to release the identities of two people killed in an aircraft collision near the shenandoah valley airport. authorities say a medical helicopter collided with a single-engine airplane yesterday. the plane went down killing both people onboard. the chopper was able to land safely. it's unclear what caused the collision. egyptian officials say they believe a suicide bomber caused a huge explosion at a church in alexandria. at least 21 people were killed and nearly 80 people wounded in today's attack.