The 11th hour last night. The house voted 257167 in favor of the billo t stop the middleclass tax increases and spending cuts to domestic poll ramps. Soon after president obama reacted to the compromise bill. Under this law, more than 98 of americans and 97 of Small Businesses will not see their income taxes go up. Millions of families will have continued to receive tax credits to help raise their kids and send them to college. Companies will continue to receive tax credits for the research they do, the investments they make and the Clean Energy Jobs that they create. And 2 million americans who are out of work but out there looking, pounding the pavement every day, are going to continue to receive Unemployment Benefits as long as theyre actively looking for a job. I am very open to compromise. I agree with democrats and republicans that the aging population and the rising cost of Health Care Makes medicare the biggest contributor to our deficit. I believe weve got to find ways to reform that program without hurting seniors who count on it to survive. And i believe that theres further unnecessary spending in government that we can eliminate. But we cant simply cut our way to prosperity. I will not have another debate with this congress over whether or not they should pay the bills that theyve already racked up through the laws that theyve passed. Let me repeat. We cant not pay bills that weve already incurred. If congress refuses to give the United States government the ability to pay these bills on time, the consequences for the entire Global Economy would be catastrophic. The one thing that i think hopefully in the new year well focus on is seeing if we can put a package like this together with a little bit less drama. A little less brinksmanship. Not scare the heck out of folks quite as much. Well, the president doesnt want to scare us too much. Nbcs tracie potts is live for us on capitol hill. Tracie, it was a new years day to remember. It was. This came a day late but just in time for the markets reopening this morning and just in time for Many Americans who were very concerned about their tax rates going up. Thats an area that democrats gave him. Couples who make 450,000 or more are going to have higher tax rates. You heard the president alluding to a tax fight. Thats a fight that the congress has to deal with. John boehner the Republican House speaker was able to gather 85 votes in favor of this bill. Overwhelmingly passed in the senate. Not as much, most republicans voted against it in the house. But in the end, they were able to get it passed. And not mentioned as much but something thats going to impact a lot of paychecks. Remember that 2 payroll tax cut we enjoyed in the past year . Thats not a part of that bill. Payroll taxes going up 2 . You will feel that in your check this month, bill. Thanks, tracie. Heres a recap of how it played owl just after the ball dropped 2 00 a. M. , the Senate Passed the bill. No senator claims true victory. 30 minutes later, the president releases a statement praising the agreement. Then around noon, Vice President biden meets with the House Democratic caucus and trying to sell his carefully constructed but same deal. But then we quickly learned that House Republicans may be staging a revolt. Eric cantor and his peers rallying for amendment. Namely, they want to add 330 billion in spending cuts to the bill. Take it to 5 00 p. M. Yesterday. The house gop meets again. By now, the senate has warned them they will not entertain amendments. And sure enough, the gop opposition cant gather enough support to pass those amendments anyways. Which brings us to late last night. Just after 11 00 p. M. , house members vote on the Senate Measure as is. They approve it 257167 sending it to the president s desk. Its interesting to know that 16 democrats voted against the measure while 85 republicans voted for it. Behind the scenes, the level of tension you can imagine between the Party Leaders extremely high evolving into nasty namecalling. Harry reid had publicly said that Speaker Boehner was running a, quote, dictatorship in the house but this morning, politico is reporting on friday when the men saw one another some the lobby of the white house, they reportedly told reid to go blank yourself. Politico said that multiple sources said that boehner even repeated the nasty comment to reid and bragged about it later. Boehners office has not commented. Secretary of state Hillary Clinton remains hospitalized for a blood clot behind her right ear. This type of blood clot is rare and can be very dangerous. Nbcs chief medical correspondent Robert Bazell with more. Reporter the type of blood clot that struck mrs. Clinton is rare. The clot is on the surface of the vein. The vein carries blood to the heart and lungs. The big danger is that the clot could grow larger causing blood to block up in the brain. That could cause a stroke. Doctors prevent that with blood thinners. Once the clot is discovered, doctors say mrs. Clinton would have gotten an i. V. Drip with a blood thinner. The entire time, the doctors would be watching her closely, usually in the icu. Youre observing the patient to make sure that theyre stable. You want to make sure that theyre not developing new symptoms. Reporter concussions have gotten attention lately as sports injuries among children but mrs. Clintons case say reminder that they can happen to anyone. Whether the danger is a rare blood clot near the brain or bleeding inside the brain, anyone who gets a concussion should seek Immediate Care if they have any of these symptoms, bad headaches, bad speech. Mrs. Clinton reportedly has no neurological damage. The best indication is that the clot was caught in time to give her an excellent chance for a full recovery. Robert bazell, nbc news, new york. Unfortunately, today is back to school and back to work for millions across the country. Let me give you the forecast. The temperatures are the only stories. Very quiet weather pattern. No School Cancellations anywhere in the nation. Kansas city, and Northern New England having the coldest morning. Windchills in negative numbers in maine. Its bitterly cold, but not a lot of nasty weather out there. Showers in South Carolina and a little activity along the texas coast but that is about it, just cold dry air dominates much of the country as we go throughout the day. And you can see that rain exiting areas, especially of North Carolina during the morning. Morning commute from raleigh, durham area, from the coastal areas, North Carolina out to the outer banks. Youll have a little wet weather but thats about it. Heres your forecast for this wednesday. With 30s across the heartland in new england. A little snow flurry activity in minneapolis. Thats a look at the national forecast. Now, heres a look at the weather outside of your wind. Well, areas like memphis, tennessee, have been very cold. I think were going to hit the peak of it, though. I think well warm things up in the middle of the weekend. A lot of people are enjoying it in the middle of the nation. Its been very cold. Well, sandy hook students prepare to go back to school. Penn state fights back with a major lawsuit against the ncaa. Plus, a member of the paparazzi killed after taking photos of Justin BiebersWhite Ferrari. Youre watching early today. Well, welcome back. Some stories making news this morning. A lawsuit is being filed in federal court over sanctions filed against penn state. Pennsylvania governor tom corbett is suing the ncaa because part of the 60 million fine would be used to finance child abuse prevention grants outside of the state of pennsylvania. In alaska, no signs of a leak of that oil drilling ship that went aground near kodiak island. The rig is carrying 140,000 gallons of diesel and lube oil in hydraulic fluid. In los angeles, police say a celebrity photographer killed while shooting pictures of Justin BiebersWhite Ferrari sports car. Bieber was not in the vehicle and the driver is not expected to be charged. And students who survived the december 7th shooting will be reunited with their teachers. The students will start classes in the new building tomorrow. Now, heres an early look at one of your top health headlines, if your new years resolution includes healthy living, you might be better off losing the diet and go for holiday leftovers. A new study finds that extra weight can help you live longer. Who are these people that do these studies . Researchers say a little body fat makes the body more resilient during illness. Thanks to congress, americas most successful earners will face their first major tax increase in 20 years. The budget did give stock markets around the globe a very positive boost from hong kong, india and britain. Markets were all trading on the upside. Back home, one of the first in the nations single serve plastic Water Bottles are now being banned from being sold in concord, new hampshire. The biggest gambling hub in the world continues to get bigger. Cass seinos in the towers are boasting about a record 38 million. If you want to advertise for this year super bowl, you better hurry up. Cbs has two spots left to sell. Rates this year, staggering 3. 8 million. Thats only for 30 seconds. And good news for the auto industry. Sales of new cars and trucks should break the 15 million mark according to polk. The reason, consumers having access to loans and lease details. Marijuana club, mummers in full regular gallia. Plus, a spectacular moment in the tournament of roses parade. Youre watching early today. [ male announcer ] this commercial is not about getting fios; its about getting fios. That moment after you finally got it that you actually get it. When you see the difference 100 fiber optics makes, and you say woah we are not on cable anymore. When online videos arent herky jerky, you get it. Or when a movie downloads in two minutes, you get it. Last chance to get fios for just 79. 99 a month for two years with a twoyear agreement. Plus 300 back. Go to got2getfios. Com today call the Verizon Center for customers with disabilities for americas fastest, most reliable internet. At 8009746006 tty v. Verizon fios. Well, welcome back. Other stories making news across america this morning. Some folks in colorado kicked off the new year in their own hazy way. Pot dens are beginning to pop up less than a month after the governor signed a law allowing Recreational Marijuana use. The new legislation does not allow public consumption which is paving the way for the new clubs. The mummers took their annual stroll in philadelphia decked out in color costumes. They put on a show for thousands along the parade routes. Its the first time they came down. Their dads in it for the first time. I think hes crazy. The mardi grasesque event is over 100 years old. Wetting nuptials and family reunions were among the festivities in the 124th rose pole parade. A man shocked his wife and child with a surprise reunion and a wedding on top of the love float. And finally, thousands of thrilled seekers took the dare to keep the new years day tradition going. They charged the icy waters off coney island dressed in nothing more than their skivvies and bathing suits for the annual polar plunge. The temperature was in the 30s when the event began. Well, new Years Day College football. Six big bowl games. Lets take you to last night. The orange bowl, unfortunately, no cinderella story here, for Northern Illinois fans. Pryor went for two touchdowns, as they beat them 3010. The rose bowl, the stanfords first win in the rose bowl in 30 years. To orlando, capital one bowl, georgias aaron murray threw one, two, three, four, make that five touchdown passes to beat nebraska 4531. To the outback bowl, what turned out to be the game of the day. 11 seconds left. Wide over, South Carolinas Dylan Thompson connected to a 32yard touchdown pass to beat michigan. In the heart of dallas bowl, Oklahoma State five touchdown passes and embarrassed the boilermakers 5814. Finally, northwestern won the first bowl game since 1958. That was the truman administration. The wildcats ended the longest losing streak with a 3420 win over mississippi state. Theres another College Football game tonight. The sugar bowl in the superdome. New orleans, as number 3 ranked Florida Gators match up with number 21 ranked entirely underdogs louisville cardinals. Early today sports is brought to you by touch of gray. Get rid of some gray, never all. Just ahead, media mogul jayz gets his gatsby on. Plus, helping teens. Plus, the big 2013 next. Youre watching early today. Welcome back to early today. To give you a quick shot of your Weather Forecast as we go throughout the day face a cold cart. Definitely gloves, hats, t winter gear just about everywhere in the country. As we go throughout the afternoon, no real highlights. Minneapolis. I mentioned theres a warmingd the weekend. Not so much in thursday. Not bad down there in florida, 82, miami, wouldnt that be nice. Heres your doctor prescribed daily dose of kardashian pregnancy news. Get used to it. According to e news, kim has been having a craving for suc s. Asked whether she wants a boy or girl, kim replied to the politically correct i just want a healthy baby. Jayz will be creating a score for the film. The rappers music can be heard in the trailer for the film giving fans an idea of what we can expect. Michael phelps is making news, hell be diving back into the pool, the dating pool after he recently broke up with model reagan mossie. And finally 2013 is going to be a big year at the movies. Some notables include the prequel to the wizard of oz. Oz, the great and powerful. The newest attempt at a superman movie with man of steel. And a movie starring harrisonford in what will surely be a big pile of moneymaker, the hunger games catching fire. This coming from minneapolis, minnesota, where a bed rom makeover is helping a teen battle cancer. Interior design crew worked their magic for jennas parents, transforming the 15yearolds cluttered room into a relaxing sanctuary. Im bill karins. This is early today. This your first stop of the day on your nbc stations. Im halfway to your heart you have to let me know so i dont make my worst mistake turn around and let you go [ female announcer ] when sweet and salty come together, the taste is irresistible. Made with sweet, smooth Peanut Butter and salted, roasted peanuts. Sweet and salty nut bars by nature valley. Nature at its most delicious. Delicious. But say i press a few out flat. Add some beef sloppy joe sauce. And cheese fold it all up and boom i just made an unbeatable unsloppy Joe Pillsbury grands biscuits. Let the making begin. Thats been wrapped in a flaky crust stuffed with a gooey center toasted up all golden brown then given a delicious design . A toaster strudel. Pillsbury toaster strudel. So delicious. So fun. Under this law, more than 98 of americans and 97 of Small Businesses will not see their income taxes go up. Cliemg back up the fiscal cliff. President obama praising a late night deal keeping Many Americans taxes from going up. Good morning, im aaron gilchrist. Im eun yang. Welcome toian 2, 2013. President obama says hell sign off on a measure to limit the damage caused by going over the cliff. The house gave final approval last night nearly 24 hours after the senate voted in favor of it. The legislation will keep taxes in place for americans who earn less than 400,000 a year and for couples who earn less than 450,000. It will extend longterm Unemployment Benefits and much more on the vote in just a few minutes. A news session of the Council Begins with inauguration of six members. David grass owe is is the only new. He beat out michael brown. Reelected include vincent orange, jack evans, Yvette Alexander and marion barry will begin new fouryear terms. It will begin after the 10 00 swearing in with an organizational meeting. They will assign Council Members to committees. Also this morning, same sex couples can begin to hold public courthouse wedding ceremonies in montgomery county. Gay marriage became legal at midnight. But they had to be private ceremonies because the courthouse was closed for the new years