257167. Better than late than never. Congress finally comes together and passes a late night fiscal cliff deal. This morning we have the winners and losers for you. Delicate condition. Thats the word on hugo chavezs health this morning. Their people told to pray for their president. Sure, why not. Thousands take an icy plunge all for a good cause. Have you ever done that . Never. Ive considered it. On the list of things i will never do. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to early start. John berman will stop by later. It is 5 00 a. M. In the east. Up first, back from the bottom of the fiscal cliff, at least for now, millions of taxpayers and Small Business owners can exhale this morning sort of because late last night, the house passed a senate bill that temporarily brings you us back from the brink. The final tally, 257 for, 167 defense. Its interesting to note that while some top House Republicans voted no, Speaker John Boehner voted yes. And heres what the deal means for you. No tax hikes for couples earning less than 450,000 a year. Itemized deductions capped for couples making over 300,000 a year. Unemployment benefits extended for a year for 2 million americans. And that irritating alternative minimum tax permanently adjusted for inflation. This fight is far from over. The deal doesnt address spending. Drastic cuts have been deferred now for two month and you can be sure the battle will get messy. And then theres the 16. 4 trillion debt ceiling. We just hit it according to the treasury secretary and the president already drawing the line in the sand for that fight. I will not have another debate with this congress over whether or not they should pay the bills that theyve already racked up. If congress refuses to give the United States government the ability to pay these bills on time, the consequences would be catastrophic. Brianna kealar is live from washington working triple duty for us. So tell us more about what is not included in this deal and what battles are now looming in congress. Lets say first what is in the deal that is important to note. And that is that when youre talking about these tax cuts that have been extended for people making 3450,000 or less as a couple 400,000 or less as an individual, theyre prmly extended. So thats pretty significant because that isnt just some stop gap one year, two year measure. The issues that arent tackled are what the fiscal cliff was supposed to serve as an incentive to do and that is dealing with the Fiscal Health of the country. Entitlement reform, tax reform. Social security, medicare, making those cost less over time. And also of course the debt ceiling isnt dealt with and that means that well have a messy couple of months. And we have an added element here. New Congress Taking on these battles. More democrats in the house and senate. How might the incoming crew affects the next negotiations that will happen . I dont think it actually is going to affect it even though there are more democratic seats, republicans still control the house. Even though there are more democratic seats, there is not a filibuster proof majority. So if this whole process irritated you, you should be prepared for a little more of that in the near term. And theres a lot of talk about who won here, who lost here in the fiscal cliff fight. And you may not realize that there are some sort of lesser winners. Obviously the losers i guess are the wealthy paying more in taxes, those who if they itemize deductions will see them capped at the 300,000 level. Tax cuts, 450 for couples, 400 for individuals. But some of the other lesser known winners, and i guess they would have been losers if something hadnt been done but now they get to keep tax breaks. Milk, sugar, peanut producers. Unemployed will see an extension of their benefits. And also the alternative minimum tax has been permanently fixed for inflation. As someone who covered congress and now the white house, i thought i would have to be talking about the amt fix for years to come and its now been permanently adjusted. And of course doctors, as well, they would have seen over time a decrease in the amount of money they were receiving in medicare payments. That was fixed. We call it the doc fix. So theyre also winners. And also considered a big winner was joe biden. Hes someone who really see mtsed his position as serving as the president s proxy when it comes to dealing with congress. Things had really stalled. He came in and between him and Mitch Mcconnell, things moved along. And for a lot of criticism that joe biden gets, i think in this case he showed his worth as the Vice President. All right. Brianna kealar, thank you. No matter how you faired in the fiscal cliff deal, your taxes are still going up. And let me explain. Lets be very clear here. Tax rates for almost everyone, 98 of the country, are not going to rise. But the payroll tax holiday will go away. So the rate you pay for payroll taxes is going up from 4. 2 back up to 6. 2 . And here is how it will affect your take home pay. If youre earning 30,000 a year, youll lose about 50 more a month in taxes. If you make more than 113,000, youll lose an additional 189 a month in taxes. This is real money, so you have to prepare. Youll be able to spend a little less money from your paycheck on your bills, on your wants and needs. So everyone should be budgeting for this because it is real money out of the paycheck. Chris has been following this closely. Hes in our washington bureau. What happened behind the scenes . Tell us how we got the deal done. Well, it started this weekend when Mitch Mcconnell was dealing with his democratic counterpart harry reid and he felt like at one point saturday and sunday that he was not getting a real fair deal out of the majority leader. He felt like perhaps that the democrat was slow walking him toward the fiscal cliff and maybe that he wasnt going to get the kinds of concessions that he hoped to out of the Senate Majority leader. And so he called joe biden and those guys have a history. They helped cut a debt deal in 2011 and they helped stepped the payroll tax cut that you were just talking about back in 2010. And he was able to start negotiations with the white house. Joe biden had been sidelined by president obama for most of these talks. And he was able to kind of get things going and get a better deal out of the white house than he was going to be able to out of senate democrats. Tell me about the division between the republicans. Boehner voted for the bill, cantor did not. Are we seeing a fundamental split in the leadership . That was a very interesting vote to watch and i think part of what the speaker was doing, because i think its important for your viewers to note, the speaker rarely votes in most of the mundane matters of of the house. So to take a vote is largely symbolic and i think this was i think the speaker saying that while i dont love everything about this deal, i stand with the republicans in the bipartisanship of this deal and will do it. A lot of people looked at that and said is there a rift, is this eric cantor positioning himself for a coup. I think thats fairly unlikely. The House Speaker boehner certainly has plenty of support going into his election tomorrow where hes expected to be reelected the speaker of the house when the 113th congress convenes. So i think folks are reading a little into that. But certainly it was eric cantor being a little who are conservatives. Many are very angry about this deal. We saw this tweet from the tea party expression, amy cramer said im disgusted with what happened in the house last night. There will be consequences. What will the blow back be, do you think . In the short term, i dont think theres much at all. And certainly many folks believe that the tea party may be losing steam if anything under this new deal. But remember, as brianna pointed out, well be back here again in march. You have the debt limit, the government maxed out its credit card december 31st. Treasury is now taking extraordinary measures for the government to pay its bills. You have the continuing resolution which funds government. It also expires in march. And you have the sequester delay, the spending cuts that were supposed to take today, also expiring in march. We bought a two month pause on that just with this deal. So theres a lot of negotiation going to happen again. Republican ares believe that they have the upper hand and more leverage here than they might have otherwise. Congressman yesterday told us it was the valentines day live cliff and then the april fools cliff and every holiday coming up, it will be a hallmark cliff holiday for the next year or so. The easter cliff is coming. Chris, thanks for being buzz kill this morning. Thank you. Its ten past the hour. One thing the house failed to do was vote on funding for victims of super storm sandy. Republican leaders wrapped up the session without voting on billions of dollars of aid. So it drew an angry response from new york area lawmakers. The leadership just walked away without the courtesy of saying it didnt have time to deal with the millions of people whose lives have been affected. But maybe, mr. Speaker, if you could remind americans that are watching that maybe they should call and ask the congress and ask the speaker, please reconsider. New york republican congressman peter king called the decision indefensible and a betrayal of trust. The Senate Last Week approved more than 60 billion in sandy relief. So now to the latest on secretary of state Hillary Clintons close call. Doctors are saying the blood clot could have been fatal, it could have caused a stroke or it could have led to seizures or epilepsy. Shes being treated with blood thinners now and should make a full recovery. Former president bill clinton and daughter chelsea both seen visiting her at the hospital yesterday. The clot was found in the vein between the brain and the skull. Chief medical correspondent dr. Sanjay gupta shows us exactly where. We know in secretary clintons case, it is actually on the right side of the head somewhere in this area. Its called the right transverse sinus. Ill show you the left side for sake of demonstration here. If i reach move the hemisphere of thebrain, you can actually see where the veins are. You see the blue area right in there, that is the area that is draining blood away from the brain and one of these brains in this area, thats where that clot actually has occurred. Three weeks after cancer surgery, hugo chavezs health said to be in a, quote, delicate state. His Vice President and successor nichol Nicholas Maduro saying complications have occurred and recovery is slow going. Translator we are facing a situation where the president is being attended to. He has had treatments, but its a complicated situation. Were constantly hoping for positive progress. Sometimes he has slight improvements, and sometimes he has remained stable. Leaders canceled a huge new years concert and asked the venezuelan people to ring in the new year by praying for chavez. No sign of leaking fuel yet from a barge that ran aground off alaskas coast. They say there is no indication that it was breached and no evidence of a spill. The Oil Drilling Rig was being towed back to its winter home in seattle when the storm hit. The coast guard evacuated the 18 man crew saturday night, the barge carrying 143,000 gallons of diesel fuel, 12,000 gallons of lube oil and hydraulic fuel. Refusing a flu shot could put you at risk of getting sick. But for some indiana nurses and hospital staff, it could cost them their jobs. Well tell you why coming up next. When you have diabetes. Your doctor will say get smart about your weight. Thats why theres glucerna hunger smart shakes. They have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. [ male announcer ] glucerna hunger smart. A smart way to help manage hunger and diabetes. [ male announcer ] glucerna hunger smart. Excuse me, sir im gonna have to ask you to power down your little word game. I think your friends will understand. Oh no, its actually my geico app. See . I just uh paid my bill. Did you really . From the plane . Yeah, i can manage my policy, get roadside assistance, pretty much access geico 24 7. Sounds a little too good to be true sir. Ill believe that when pigs fly. Ok, did she seriously just say that . Geico. Just click away with our free mobile app. Progressoh [ female announcer ] with 40 delicious progresso soups at 100 calories or less, there are plenty of reasons people are saying progressoh share your progressoh story on facebook. Welcome back. Lets get you uptodate. The house voted last night to avoid going over the fiscal cliff. Raising taxes on the wealthiest 2 of americans, but maintaining tax cuts for most people. President obama spoke shortly after the house voted. Todays agreement enshrines i think a principal into law that will remain in president as long as im president. The deficit needs to be reduced in a way thats balanced. Everyone pays their fair share. Everyone does their part. Thats how the economy works best. Thats how we grow. So right after that, youre seeing the president there, he boarded air force one to fly to hawaii, he wanted to finish his vacation. Today the governor of pennsylvania will announce the a lawsuit over the ncaa over the stiff sanctions it imposed on Penn State University in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Hes the former assistant football coach convicted of sexually abusing boys. The ncaa fined penn state 60 million, stripped the Football Program of 14 seasons of victories under the late head coach joe paterno. Its a retreat for the connecticut attorney who sought to sue the state for 100 million over the school mass carry in newtown. The outcry against the potential lawsuit was so strong, he has withdrawn it. This is a horrible tragedy and if i offended anyone, i deeply apologize. He represents the parents of a 6yearold student who survived the massacre. He may seek to file the suit at a later date. Hell join us on starting point at 8 00. Rescuers found themselves in trouble on an icy lake outside los angeles. A shredder oig slid out of control and into the water. Several tried to pull him out, but many of them fell into water, too, and needed help. Thankfully everyone got out okay. And of course this is almost as much a part of new years day as football and of course the plaque e black eyed peas. The air temperature with the windchill was around 17 below. So you can imagine the thrill those ice divers were feeling. The 28th annual Polar Bear Plunge in alabama wasnt as chilly, it was in the 50s there. But it wasnt exactly a steam bath, either. About 100 people jumped. If i had to do it, it would be alabama, not lake minnetonka. Ill do it one day. Youre a brave woman. Time for your early reads. Local news making national headlines. First from denver, the Champagne Toast is so 2012. A group of new years eve revelers were lighting up inside at a new marijuana club, club 64, the first of its kind to open in colorado since voters approved a ballot measure in november legalizing Recreational Use of pot. Its a private club open only to members who pay a 30ed fee. You cant buy pot there, but you can bring it and pass it around. And then from the elkhart truth, get a flu shot or get fired. Eight employees at a hospital in indiana face that choice and refuse to get vaccinated. One of the pink slip workers an oncology nurse says getting the flu shot would have gone against her religious belief, but the doctor rejected her request for an exemption. The hospital says it is intended to protect patients from potentially deadly illnesses. For an expanded look at all of our top story, head to our blog and follow us on twister and facebook. Search early start cnn. Ill give you a hint, double thumbs up this morning. Plus four masked men break into Paris Flagship apple store. You will not believe what they got away with. Aig . We said we were going to turn it around, and we did. Woman were helping joplin, missouri, come back from a devastating tornado. Man and now were helping the east coast recover from hurricane sandy. Were a leading Global Insurance company, based right here in america. Weve repaid every dollar america lent us. Everything, plus a profit of more than 22 billion. For the American People. Thank you, america. Helping people recover and rebuild thats what we do. Now lets bring on tomorrow. Welcome back. 23 past the hour. A brazen Million Dollar breakin at an apple store in paris. Masked gun wielding suspects forced their way in through an Employee Entrance new years eve. They overpowered a Security Guard and janitor. A total of four or five suspects were involved. They loaded boxes of loot on to a truck. The heist happened about three hours after the store had closed and it happened under the nose of riot police who were patrolling nearby. Lets mind your business this morning. World markets are rallying after congress hammered out the deal on the decrease. Christine has the details. I think you can expect a rally. I think the World Markets and stock futures so far like what theyve seen from the resolution of that deal. S p futures up 2. 5 . Asian markets are rallied. A good way to start 2013. As i told you, the s p gained 13. 5 last year. Its the best indicator for the stock part of your 401 k . The dow gained more than 7 last year. Tech heavy nasdaq up 16 . Stock futures up this high will likely see a rally for sure in markets. Whether it lasts is another question because as you know, part of the fiscal cliff was averted, but there are still big issues. One was spending cuts, sequester, that issue delayed by two months. And there is nothing about the debt ceiling. The treasury secretary says the government has officially reached the 16. 394 trillion debt limit. Some analysts are also warning gridlock in washington could cause more problems. I want to show you what an an miss said, the process was so kay owe tick that were likely to see a further u. S. Downgrade at shall poinome point. And budget resolution deadline march 27th. We spoke to ceo of riley asset manage