The viral video that has millions of people around the world hooked, today, sunday, december 30th, 2012. From nbc news this is today with lester holt and erica hill im erica hill. Im carl quintanilla. All eyes on washington. A number of americans wondering this morning why lawmakers have not yet been able to reach a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff. President obama spoke exclusively to nbcs david gregory. We are going to get a preview of what he has to say just ahead. It has been just two weeks since the tragedy of sandy hook elementary in connecticut. A teenager in california wrote a poem to express her feelings saying she understood how it could happen and it got her suspended from school. Well get her reaction coming up well also hear from the 29yearold surfer that used his fists and his board to save his life when a shark kept coming at him again and again. Scary story. Later on, well switch gears and look back at the year in pop culture, from the rise of Honey Boo Boo to the unlikely bop lairity of that catchy tune, gang ham style. Slightly popular, wasnt it . We begin with the race in washington to fist fiscal cliff deadline including a preview of david gr David Gregorys exclusive interview. We begin with kristen welker. The house is back in session and they could announce a deal as early as this afternoon. Many saying this entire episode represents a lack of leadership on both sides of pennsylvania. With less than 48 hours until the tax hikes and spending cuts take effect, florida Small Business owner, gary simmons, is watching what happens in washington closely. It could directly impact our business if people do not have the extra dollars to come shopping. That hurts business. Reporter it is a frustration that is being felt coast to coast and christmas shoppers in california sound off. Potentially, it will affect the middle class, which i am the most, right now. Thats disappointing to me. Reporter with public pressure mounting, key staffers worked behind closed doors trying to hammer out a lastminute deal. In his weekly radio address, the president said, if lawmakers cant find a compromise, they should put his plan up for a vote. I will urge the senate to hold an up or down vote on i abasic package that protects the middle class and extends Unemployment Insurance and lays the ground for future progress on more Economic Growth and deficit reduction. Reporter in the republican response, missouri senator, roy blunt, called the president s plan the wrong way forward. The president s proposal to raise taxes on the top 2 of americans wont pay onethird of the annual interest now owed on this massive 16 trillion dollar debt. Reporter sources closest to the talk tell harry reid and Mitch Mcconnell are working to draft a plan that will include extending Unemployment Benefits and keeping 30 million americans from paying the alternative minimum tax and allowing taxes to increase on the wealthiest americans. This remains a major Sticking Point for many republicans. Some say a small deal is better than no deal at all but represents a lack of leadership. They havent taken any of the hard measures to bring spending down and reform entitlements and raise more revenues. Reporter now, late saturday, negotiators continued to haggle over a number of issues, particularly the issue of taxes. Republican leader, Mitch Mcconnell, was spotted at the capital. When asked if they would reach a deal, he told reporters, quote, i hope so. Erica . Many americans hoping so too. David gregory is moderator of meet the press. Good morning. Good morning, erica. You sat down with an exclusive interview with the president. Did he seem optimistic to you . He says he is optimistic but really preparing to play hardball. His own approach, plan b, is a small deal to get an extension of the middle class tax cuts and do very little else. The fight over the debt continues into the new year just weeks ahead over the debt limit. This is, in effect, something he feels so strongly about doing now. You go back months and months and months, the feeling in the white house is if they win the election, they are going to get their tax increase on wealthier americans. There is a feeling the president has to step back from that, to compromise on that key point would be a failure of leadership. Talking about the stop gap, you are mentioning it here. The one thing mentioning would be spending cuts, which is going to make it very difficult to get any votes from the house and gop. How does that happen then . Well, it becomes very difficult. I think that becomes a bigger story. The president and other white house advisers would argue that if you deal with the tax question, you take a big bite out of the fiscal cliff and there are some ways that perhaps they can delay some of the damage of these automatic spending cuts, half of which occur in defense. A lot of republicans accusing the president of wanting to go over the cliff because he would be happy with a lot of these cuts, particularly in defense. There is no question they are going to have to come back as they try to raise the debt ceiling in a matter of weeks. Some of the spending cut issues have to be dealt with. The president is insistent he is not going to compromise without being part of a broader, more balanced plan. The real drivers of the debt, Social Security and more importantly, medicare, is something that may be elusive in terms of being on the table. Thats what has to be on the table but they are so far away in dealing with that. There is a lot of frustration among the american people. This fiscal cliff was created to avoid what we are seeing now, to spur congress to act. If we get to this point and they still have not gotten things done, what is to say anything will get done . How do you get congress to do their job . And the white house. Everybody has a role. That question is the right question. It is one that i talk about with the president in the interview this morning. He has a very ambitious secondterm agenda. I dont know how he gets it done when they cant get the basic things done over the budget. These philosophical differences over taxes and spending remain. They are more entrenched. This is what i think changed. I think a secondterm president obama will work harder to jam up the republicans, not to confuse them or lure into compromise but to put more political pressure on them to expose their divisions and internal discord. Whether that creates leverage, well see. His relationship with congress has been very difficult. His view is that he doesnt have a legitimate partner. How do you get something done on immigration . On medicare reform, and gun control legislation, which the president says is a priority which requires a great deal of political help . It seems to be shorter than four years, in what the president can do in a time period before midterm elections. A lot of things on the agenda. Thanks, again. You can see davids entire interview with president obama this morning on meet the press. Good morning, jenna, for a check of the other top stories stunning new pictures are out of a plane crash just outside moscow. Home video shows the moment of impact, debris shooting out and hitting cars on the highway. The plane crashed saturday morning, splitting into pieces, bursting into flames and killing four people in the process. Mother nature getting one last widespread winter storm in before the end of the year. The second big one has blanketed most of the northeast and upper ohio river valley in snow. In pittsburgh, some people pulled out skis to get around town while their neighbors struggled. In boston, no cars for you. A parking ban. People braved wintry weather for hours to honor the two new York Firefighters that lost their lives in an ambush on christmas eve. Nearly 6,000 people, many of them fellow firefighters traveled to the town of webster from as far away as california to take part in the service. The neighbor charged with supply the excon shooter with guns say they were actually stolen from her. The showdown over guns in america is taking center stage in northern virginia. Scores of gun owners are being met by scores of antigun activists at one of the largest gun shows. Sales of the bushmaster semiautomatic rifle are brisk driven by fear congress will install the man. An arrest in the second subway bush death this month. She told them she shoved the victim off and to his death because she hates muslims since september 11th. 31yearold Erica Menendez could face 25 years to life in prison if convicted. 50 american troops are helping u. S. Citizens and diplomates evacuate the Central African republic. President obama ordered the evacuation after heavy criticism of the Administration Security response for the september 11th attack in benghazi. George h. W. Bush is out of intensive care and in a regular room in houston. A Spokesman Says his condition is improving. The 88yearold has been hospitalized for more than a month with complications related to bronchitis on december 31st, 1907, the first big ball drop took place in times square and somewhere back then a newscaster sat at a desk and talked about preparations. Nothing has changed. The famous crystal ball is ready to drop and ring in 2013. The party planers leave nothing to chance. They tested the confetti in times square and packed on to broadway to watch the ball drop. There was no tv, big anchor desk or today show. In 1997, a newscaster was like, you will be doing weather. The ball is dropping pretty soon. How do you test confetti . Do you hold it here and let it go . They cut up 1 million pieces an standout side their apartment and drop it. Jenna, thanks. In the meantime, dylan dreyer is here with a check of weather. It is going to be cold . It certainly is cold. Confetti falls no matter what. It will get tossed in the wind. Years eva cross most of the country. And you see the dotted line stretching across the country, and thats your line below freezing. And we are looking at more snow, and this time around its in the middle of the country, and you can see as it moves through the next 48 hours, we will see rain move into arkansas and snow across nebraska, and that will be on the ground, 1 to 3 inches for new years day. Here is a peek out your window. Our temperatures are rather chilly around here. We are all in the 30s, at the freezing mark or slightly above, but our story will be the windchill caused by the gusting winds. 31 Miles Per Hour in manassas, and thats sending our windchills down into the 20s. Feels like 28 degrees in d. C. , and feels like 24 in frederick, and feels like 22 in that is your latest forecast. Carl . Dylan, thanks. It has been just over two weeks since the tragedy of Sandy Hook Elementary School in connecticut. A High School Senior from california is facing expulsion after writing a poem about the shooting. Is her school going too far. The story from diana alviar. I understand the killings in connecticut. I know why he pulled the driger. Reporter courtney web writes a poem to express her feelings. Some are happy. Some are sad but this poem was considered a threat by her school. The teen was suspended. I feel like ive really been made to almost look like a monster by my school. I dont appreciate that at all. Reporter courtney says she was trying to express her belief that tragedies like sandy hook happen because people feel helpless. I was shocked and hurt at the same time that they would think that i would even think of hurting anybody. Reporter a teacher found the poem and turned it over to administrators who told courtneys stunned mother, valerie, her daughter had been suspended. She wasnt threatening herself. She didnt threaten the school. She didnt threaten anybody. We were unable to reach anyone at Life Learning Academy for comment. The schools letter to courtneys mom says her poem violated the schools zerotolerance policy towards violence. We found a note that contained deeply concerning feelings related to the newtown, connecticut. Her mother says she had every right to express herself. I feel that it is actually a violation of her freedom of speech. Reporter a First Amendment expert, an attorney, jonathan capp, agreed. If we cant talk about this whole incident, we are not going to understand what makes these people tick who load up their guns and kill a massive number of people. Reporter it is not over. The High School Senior faces possible expulsion. Her mother says she is praying for a positive outcome. I would like for my daughter to continue her education, to graduate on time and to be able to write and continue to write like she has been doing. Reporter as for courtney, she says she is using this experience to become a better writer. You have to have gone through things in your life to be able to express yourself in creative ways. I think this incident inspires me to speak my mind even more. Reporter she has even written a new poem titled judgment. Up next on today, is he the next psy . Why a man who is speaking about fish is making a huge flash online right after this. At way to get your family together for breakfast. In fact, they might work too well. [ ding ] [ shuffling, scooting ] [ clears throat ] [ children laugh ] [ female announcer ] golden, crispy outside. Warm and fluffy inside. We are one goodlooking family. [ children laugh ] [ female announcer ] eggo waffles. Simply delicious. Time for citi price rewind. Because your daughter really wants that pink castle thing. And you really dont want to pay more than you have to. Only citi price rewind automatically searches for the lowest price. And if it finds one, you get refunded the difference. Just use your citi card and register your purchase online. Have a super sparkly day ok. [ male announcer ] now all you need is a magic carriage. Citi price rewind. Start saving at citi. Com pricerewind. I just finished a bowl of your new light Chicken Pot Pie soup and its so rich and creamy. Is it really 100 calories . Let me put you on webcan. Lean roasted chicken. And a creamy broth mmm i can still see you. [ male announcer ] progresso. You gotta taste this soup. Mmm i can still see you. He is a good Little Monkey and always very curious. One day george got an important letter. Hes built a rocket ship to travel into space. Google, how far is earth to the moon . The moon is 238,900 miles. The great moment had come. 3, 2, 1. [ giggling ] we know the old adage, if you give a man a fish for a day, he eats. If you teach him to fish, he eats for life. For your video to go viral in 2012, you needed some crazy dance moves. Reporter a chorus that stays in your head all day. Reporter or you could just try being really cute. The common theme, be so funny, so catchy that the moment someone sees your video, they just have to pass it along. You might be hitting send on this guy. Reporter Mohammed Nazir wanted to attract customers to his london fish market. So he came up with a catchy song. It was so popular, he was signed by warner music and turned his song into a video. Reporter its attracted him worldwide fame with more than 10 million hits. I was thinking im in a dream. Its a dream. I think someone touches me and i will wake up. Please, dont touch me. I dont want to wake up. Reporter his dream has been interrupted by having to return to pakistan to get a visa. At least he received a heros welcome with news channels breaking into the coverage. The government has lifted its ban on youtube so pakistanis could see their newest star. Reporter its so sweet, its short. Its just something you would want to pass on to someone to help them get through the day. Reporter he has promised a big return but he has a long way to go if he wants to catch up with gangnam styles 1 billion views. At least he got those customers buying fish. For today, duncan golistani, london. It is a long way to 1 million hits. At one point, you keep on growing from there. I also think it sounds like a great deal on fish. One pound for fish, not even a couple bucks still to come, reality tvs breakout star, Honey Boo Boo and the other pop culture standouts of 2012 but first these messages. Plus a 50 annual bonus. And everyone. But her likes 50 more cash. But im upping my game. Do you want a candy cane . Yes do you want the puppy . Yes do you want a tricycle . Yes do you want 50 percent more cash . No festive. [ male announcer ] the capital one cash rewards card gives you 1 cash back on every purchase plus a 50 annual bonus on the cash you earn. Its the card for people who like more cash. Whats in your wallet . Heres a better idea. Pillsbury grands flaky layers biscuits in just 15 minutes the light delicate layers add a layer of warmth to your next dinner. Pillsbury grands biscuits let the making begin. [ sad music playing ] [ knock on door ] your bags, sir. Both finally one taste, and youll understand. Enjoy Dunkin Donuts coffee anytime. Pick some up where you buy groceries. Still ahead, the australian surfer attacked by a shark speaks out about how he escaped from its jaws. A very lucky young man. Did you ever read mad magazine . Jenna is going to take us behind the scenes of that magazine that is now 60 years old. Hard to believe. First, these messages. [ female announcer ] nothing gets youoing quite like the power of quaker oats. Today is going to be epic. Quaker up. Oh, did you want it . Yea well split it. [ female announcer ] made fresh, so light, buttery and flakey. Thats half thats not half guys, i have more thanks mom [ female announcer ] pillsbury crescents. Let the making begin good morning. Its sunday, december 30th, 2012. I am richard jordan. Making News Today Police arrested a 22yearold man in connection of the death of stringfellow. Police say the suspect and the victim planned to meet. A candlelight vigil is planned for tonight. Time is running out for lawmakers to come to a deal to avoid the socalled fiscal cliff. In less than 48 hours taxes will go up for a majority of americans and spending will be slashed if they do not reach a compromise. And the redskins take on the Dallas Cowboys tonight in a winner take all match for the title. A loss could put the playoffs on the line. Can you catch the game right here on nbc 4. Today the