also, friday, we'll find out if employers did a lot of hiring last month. analysts are expecting good numbers when the labor department jobs report comes out at 8:30 a.m. all right, that's going to do it for me. thanks so much for being with me in the news room. much more straight ahead. >> you're there the cnn news room. i'm martin savidge and bone chilling cold. two thirds of america seeing record that nay haven't seen in decades. feel are being warned to stay off the slippery roads. >> well, it's very important.

the temperature that is we're talking about are deadly. it's unlike anything we've seen in a long, long time. jchlt f.k. airport in new york closed. more than 3,000 flights have been cancelled today. lake michigan frozen over. by natiwednesday, nearly half o nation will shudder in temperatures as low as zero.

december piet conditions in the windy city, chicago public schools will be open tomorrow. and we can say this, the worst, for many places, is yet to come. cnn's george howell is live in green bay where that game is just getting started. george, they are known for their hard core fans. they've even nicknamed that area of the frozen tundra. this has to be considered extreme, right? well, martin, yes. it is a bitterly cold experience. as you mentioned, negative t t

9-10 with the wind kwhil. it's expected to get kolgder as the day goes only. could get down into the negative 20s and 30s overnight. keep this in mind. will this where like the ice bowl, that game back in 196 7b against the dam las cowboys? some 70,000 people are in the stadium right noi watching the game as it's underway. we do know that officials here, martin, they're gifling out hot chocolate, giving out coffee to help people get through this. make sure that you're wearing the hat and you're warm as you watch this game.

>> they're doing several things. again, these strategies seemed to work. the hope is people can get through it together. you're always con sirned about frost biet in a situation like this. g . in missouri, windchill, 40 below. >> it is ugly, if that's a word i can use. this would be a good view for any other day but today.

there's a major problem with snow and visibility. right now, they're just urging everybody to stay off the roads. thankfully, today is sunday, so not too many people are out on the roads today. this is the skooen and what we're dealing with in sant lewis. >> chicago's blustery winds, the polar temps and then the t-shirt. a shirt frozen stiff in just five minutes. glp it's if kind of snow where you better clear your car

windows quickly. it's fast and flaky. it's the kind of night where staying in the house sounds like a good idea, although not entirely realistic. >> this is pretty bad. this makes it a little bit inconvenient to get around. but you've still got to do stuff. the extreme cold presentings a whole new set of problemings. >> the broken pipes keep me in business. d canadians are suffering there, as well. >> people here in newfoundland

are wondering what they did to tick off mother nature. around 9:00 this morning, the problem has been the temperature. as the temperature drops, the demand for electricity goes through the roof. overnight, the temp which you shallings have been minus 40. the province has set up warming committees grabbing a shovel and warming up the old fashioned way. >> people are taking this arctic storm very seriously. even here in atlanta, heaters,

firewood and anything educational that might keep you warm have been flyingoff the shelves all weekend. it's expected to be colder tomorrow in anxious ra sthan in michigan. the high for tomorrow? 6 degrees. >> what e eve got is a peegs of this in the northern hemisphere coming down to the northern 48 for the first time in two decades. so the windchills tonight, look at how inkredenly intense these are.

and then as we get towards tomorrow morning, 50 below. so the air gets brutally cold. it drops out. it drops east. it does modify, but, still, none the less for many. duluth, 32 degrees colder than normal. so how cold is it? anchorage alaska is 34. it's colder in chicago than anchorage alaska. colder in st. louis.

it is really record-breaking. we'll be talking about this for years to come. >> just ahead, the mayor of st. louis is going to join me to talk about the treacherous conditions that they're suffering tluf there and what has forested him toe shut down the city. also, coming up, hear from an administrator at a new york hospital who may take in a brain dead teen. and monitoring the crash of a private plane. the dwe tails right after this. it's not the "limit the cash i earn every month" card. it's not the "i only earn decent rewards at the gas station" card. it's the no-games, no-signing up, everyday-rewarding, kung-fu-fighting, silver-lightning-in-a-bottle, bringing-home-the-bacon cash back card. this is the quicksilver card from capital one.

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♪ this magic moment

z we continue to follow developmenteds from aspen, colorado. a witness to the crash tweeted us that a photo of what the f.a. blooechs is a bombardi

challenger helicopter jet. one was killed, the other were taken to the hospital with moderate to severe injuries. there were people at the airport who were telling their social media followers what they saw. actor and comedian kevin neil land tweeted so sad. horrible plane crash, we just saw it happen at the aspen airport. we'll, of course, bring you details as soon as we dpet new information. turning now to oak land, california, time quickly running out for the father and mother limb of johih mcwet. she was declared brain dead last month after complications from con sill surnl ri. by kourlt order, she is on a ventilator until 5:00 p.m. tuesday.

alison, thank you for being with us. i'm wondering, have any final arrangements been made to move jahigh from california to new york? >> at this time, they're named as the potential facility that johih and her family will be coming to. but we will know more details in a couple of hours. >> since she's already declared brain dead, what's the purpose of bringing her to new beginnings? >> to give her a chance. we had a loved one that was in the same situation.

this little an gem is a true survivor. he's she's in there. she's fieblgting all the way. her heart is beating, strong, the power of prayer. she can come through this. she deserves and needs to have a chance that all of us here have had.

>> at this time, we have a team of associates. some wonderful people. we're making it happen. it just warms my heart. i'm very excited to meet this family and be a part of her recough ri. >> this is a story that has touched so many across the koun trip and we'll continue to do so. we'll check back with you, thank you. >> thank you very much. >> coming up, the violence is surging in iraq. now, secretary of state john kerry pledging to help iraq. his plan right after this. pushl push welcome back. how is everything?

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. the pope is planning a trip to the holy land. pope francis announced today that he will travel to jerusalem, the west bank and jordan. that trip is scheduled for three days at the end of may. it's his only trip planned so far this year. american officials are in

contact, especially in areas that have seenl a lot of fighting. john kerry says without putting any boots on the ground, i presume he means u.s. troops, so what kind of help are we talking about? >> kerry was very specific in what the promise of help doesn't mean. but he wasn't as specific beyond what he has provided. >> this is a fight that belongs to the iraqis. we are not contemplating boots op the ground. this is their fight.

>> kerry repeated again today that the u.s. will do everything it can to help. >> kerry blames the civil war in syria, among other people, too, for what has been causing this instability in iraq. any hirnt that the usz will try to do more to bring an end to the violence in syria? kerry indicated that the goal that the paegs talks would have would be establishing the transitional dpovt in syria. those peace talks will take police next movant. >> it is all on the way, how low will the temperatures go?

we we'll give you a sneak peek. take a look at these ireporters. a little something to warm your heart on a cold winter day.

but with pamprin, a period means sgo!! pain relievers only relieve pain. multi-symptom pamprin relieves all your symptoms. so there's no stopping you. period. record breaking wealth ere gripping two-thirds of america. the worst, for me, they're still to come. millions of people feeling the polar vortex of icy air. nearly half a nation will shudder in temperatures 250e p zero or below. j.f.k. airport in new york was closed. nearly 3,000 flights have been cancelled just today. hechl i have snow, sleet and gusty winds have shut down the city of sarnt lewis.

the city's mayor made that call. >> welcome, mayor, thanks for being with us. >> it's the fact that the temperatures are very, very low. these are some of the lowest temperatures we've seen in decades. tomorrow, we're expecting that the high will be below zero. i can't recall when that has happened in st. louis. >> right, most areas are going through what is inkreden cold. sopd what can you do? >> we open up our emergency servicings department. our regular services are a shut down, we shut down our court us and shut down city hall.

but essential employ krees are there. like i said, streets, health department placing fire. and what we do is make sure we are moegs concerned in making the streets as safe as possible. we're most concerned about our oldest, our youngest and pets. so we are out looking for people on the streets. we're operating with the county buss to ship them places to get something to eelt.

we've got a function to need registry. if we don't hear from them, we go out to their home and try to assist to them that way. we're also warning people to stay home, if they can. we have white outs and snow drifts. the conditionings are dangerous. st. louis, you heard him say,

it's not so much the snow, it's the very difficult cold. fierce flames and choking smoke engulf part of a high-rise in new york city today. fire officials tell us two people were injured. tp governor says he'll sign an executive order allowing the use of medical marijuana. >> elts's very interesting. what this has done is andrew quomo allows the use of medical marnl.

and so adds voe cats are saying this is great, tens of thousands of new yorkers will be able to benefit from this. take a look, the news, weather, and sports oost, most of the states around new york already have legalized if useof medical marijuana. through an executive ordser, in the state where the senate has on multiple occasions killed a comprehensive bill. here's how it would work. kult vating maimpbl in new york is illegal. advocates say it's a great first step.

one that some new yorkers have been waiting for for a very long time. >> there's nancy out in albany who's a cancer survivor. there's people all over our state for whom this is literally a life and death issue. >> the prospect of policy changes, diversion and addiction, is quite frankly frightening to us. when are we going to see the first prescription in new york? optimistic advocates say in 3-4 months. >> all right, rosa. thanks very much. nice to see you back in a warm studio. thank you. we'll talk about how that decision could help a potential

20168 white house run plus, mid romney's reaction. ♪ [ male announcer ] this is the story of the little room over the pizza place at 315 chestnut street. the modest first floor bedroom in tallinn, estonia and the dusty basement at 1406 35th street. it is the story of the old dining room table at 25th and hoffman avenue. the southbound bus barreling down i-95.

...and the second floor above the strip mall at roble and el camino. ♪ this magic moment it is the story of where every great idea begins. ♪ so different and so new where those with endless vision and an equal amount of audaciousness believed they had the power to do more. time and time again. ♪ and then, it happened at dell, we're honored to be part of some of the world's great stories. stories that began much the same way ours did. in a little dorm room -- # 2713. ♪ this magic moment ♪

president obama's holiday trip to hawaii is now officially over. the president and his daughter, sasha and malea arrive back in the white house today.

michelle obama will stay in hawaii for a few more days. it's a birth day gift from the president. the first lady turns 50 next week. now, what to do about edward snowden. kentucky republican rand paul says he should be prosz cuted. when it comes to marijuana, one of the most powerful governors in the country is changing his mind.

he's said to allow limited use of medical marnl. let's talk about our political impact. what's the political upside or downside? >> often times, people think of the state of new york, they think ofl man hatten. i'm pretty sure people in more rural parts of the state are more liberal. if we look at the an litices, by

far and away, biden is a distant second. if you're looking to be a vp candidate, you've got to do something wild like that. it's just crazy enough to get you enough i tension that may, may get some eyeballs away from hillary. >> that's a fascinating strategy. do the crazy card. so overall, republicans. amy, do you expect any shift? >> i don't see any turns. rand paul may support legalization.

you can call it in medical marijuana, but that was just a fig leaf, should i say, for a broader radicalization of pot. if that's his strategy, he needs to put down the bong. it's not that crazy when you look at prohibition. five years later, it was legal in the country. that's a small little election cycle five years later, there was legal alcohol. it was kind of a wild card. the truth of the matter is we have higs ri to prove that you can say something like this.

pot is a much more regional issue. >> let me move on. globally, it's not that new. all of this that came along, i'd mark the photograph of romney and his recently adopted grandson. let's listen, first of all, to that. people make mistakes. and they've apologized for it. i want to move on from that. >> is it the end? he's accented that apoll, should it end? or is there more to be done

here? >> i think it is the echbd of the story in terms of a new cycle. i watched both selgmenteds yesterday. you can't lead a racial witch hunt against the man's fachlly and then pretend that you didn't light the porch. she invited her panelists to comment on that. and she started laughing uproarously. so her policy yesterday, i liked alec baldwin's reply. if i cry, will i be forgiven, too? >> say president obama had adopted a white child, would this have triggered the kind of con tro ser si that this has? >> you can't play that game. the history of both races are just different.

they're two totally different situations. if you followed social media, it moved very briefly. glp it was the host of a show on msnbc that launched this discussion. she put up a family photo, pointed to the black child and asked her guest to remark to the fact -- >> you don't have to point to the black child. did you see the foe foe? you don't need to point to the black child. the black child is pretty eft. >> i didn't know, l.z., i saw a family photo.

i called her out on it last week. she did. look, here is the black child. you can see the black child on his lap. i don't have a problem with it. i don't have a problem with noticing color. that doesn't make you a racist. >> what was the point of the segment? >> they wanted to find a way to poke fun at mitt romney and took a disgusting route to do it by mocking the child. is that is totally different

than trying to pretend saz if she went out of her way. taurking about ration doesn't make you a racism. that's one thung we get to in this country. we'll just stop there. we know it was wrong. there's been an apology made and an apology accepted. so let's move only. a hero steven segal may be preparing for a new role as the governor of arizona. this is being talked about here as a possible till for him. and it's an interesting role. but i'm wondering, she spoke with the county swlf about in. what do you think about this? a legitimate campaign. a stunned -- we've seen in the past where actors have actually saw an active star.

>> we saw ronald reagan, of course, who was governor of california. and then he became president of the united states. i'm not sure about stechb segal's, you know, his roots in the statsd of arizona. i don't know about his biography or his touch of issues that are pont to arizonans. i love politics. if you want to make it a lot more fun for voters. with that being said, i think because he was an entertainer, dismissing him might be a little premature.

i found it frustrating that people thought i was just ahead to have talking on television and i didn't actually have thoughts. so before i completely dismiz what he could or could not do for the state of arizona, i would definitely need to hear what he said. >> great distugs. thank you both. amy, l.z., see you again soon. congress goes back to work. that will happen tomorrow. coming up next, our political an ris offers some new year's resolutions to help congress get something done after the least productive session in history. up next, you'll hear from terrance moore who once covered an nfl game, if you can believe it, even colder than today's showdown in green bai. showdown in green bai. % so there i was again,

showdown in green bai. explaining my moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis to another new stylist. it was a total embarrassment. and not the kind of attention i wanted. so i had a serious talk with my dermatologist about my treatment options. this time, she prescribed humira-adalimumab. humira helps to clear the surface of my skin by actually working inside my body. in clinical trials, most adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis saw 75% skin clearance. and the majority of people were clear or almost clear in just 4 months. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to

a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. make the most of every moment. ask your dermatologist about humira, today. clearer skin is possible.

rorlt eporters around the cy have been covering this brutal winter storm. >> it's freezing. listen to this baby.

>> ak chultly kind of leaning against this deck here just to brasz myself so i don't lose footing. >> we could sit out here all day. >> you can see, i've dmot the tears coming out. >> listen to that. try doing that in your warm studio. >> it's so cold here, a lot of in is really frozen solid. >> we've got a measuring stick. >> what . >> sounded cold. they are also trying to keep the beer from freezing at green bay's lambeau field. they are using special freezers to keep the beer on tap. fans are braving the brittle cold to see their beloved packers take on the 49ers. sports contributor, terrence moore, is here in atlanta. terrence, i think i have covered three of the coldest games on record. >> three of the six. >> you are the perfect person to

turn to and say, what do you do? how do you prepare? >> first of all, the weather drama that was supposed to be in green bay didn't happen. it was a balmy 5 degrees. fancy that. there's nothing can you do. >> wimps up there. >> that's exactly right. but i tell you, two games come to mind. i was there in 1980 when the oakland raiders played the cleveland browns in cleveland for a playoff game. you probably remember the game. 0 degrees during kick off it was so. we talked a little bit about this, freeze bowl, cincinnati against san diego. it was 40 degrees. back then, minus 9 actual temperature, minus 59 wind chill factor. ohio river froze over.

press box heater broke. it was also cold there. that was the worst day of my life. >> speaking of freezing over. i'm talking about a very low. dallas cowboys, you've got a new poll out about them? >> yeah. they were voted as least favorite team in america. you know what, martin, they were also second on the list for the favorite team behind the denver broncos and that tells me the cowboys are truly america's team. they can provoke this kind of emotion, negatively or positively. we are talking about a team that has not won a world championship since 1995 and just two play off games since then. >> where is this coming from, this emotion? >> people like the star. here it is, decades later, still talking about them one way or the other. >> i will go all over the sports map here. the hall of fame announcement came out wednesday. >> yes. >> you're a hall of famer. >> yes, i am.

>> two former plant braves pitchers, they going to make it in? >> they're there. they've got my vote. i put my first check mark beside their names. extraordinary pitchers. but the thing, martin, that is amazing to me about this is last month, bobby cox, manager, made it to the hall of fame. bobby cox, greg maddux, tom laughin. next year, another team going in. couple years of that, chipper jones going in. that's five hall of famers. this team set the foundation of manager for consecutive league titles, record, the most underachieving team in the history of major league baseball. >> i agree, so close so many times. >> the extraordinary guy, nothing against tom laughin, but greg maddux. 18 gold gloves, could field. just an extraordinary pitcher.

he should go in unanimously. it won't happen because of baseball writers have that thing, we can't put this guy in because babe ruth didn't go in unanimously, so why should greg madd maddux? but he should. >> in green bay, why are football players in there with short sleeves. >> it is a psych game. even though they come out in short sleeves, at the same time, she say, why am i doing this p. this is crazy. they are trying to psych themselves up that it is not as cold as it is. when it is 5 degrees, even though warmer than people thought, that's still very, very cold. >> seemed like such a good idea in the locker room. >> right. but they got free coffee and free cocoa for everybody there. >> drink up. thanks very much. >> all right. two ships stuck in antarctica. but why will a u.s. ice breaker be able to succeed where others

could not? we'll explain, next.

this just into cnn. police confirming that one person, 27-year-old man, died in a fire in a high rise building in manhattan. the fire broke out on the 20th floor earlier today. the person got trapped in a

stairwell. one other person was critically injured. several others were treated for minor injuries. there's no word yet on the cause of that blaze. >> for two large ships stuck in the ice in antarctica, help's on the way. but it may be about a week before u.s. coast guard cutter polar star reaches the trapped vessels. cnn's keyera phillips joined the ship like the one in antarctica to see what it takes to smash through the thick ice. >> reporter: life at mcmurdo station relies on the constant flow of supplies to its open harbor. a challenge where the ocean can freeze almost instantly. pack ice like this kept explorers away from antarctica for centuries. today, the u.s. coast guard breaks pack ice every season in specialized ships like the polar sea.

this is breaking the ice. cutting a 56-mile channel for a supply chip to bring in fuel and food. two of the most crucial supplies for winter survival. commander steve wheeler is commander of the polar sea. >> we want to shave off big chunks of ice between us and the channel. >> next year when we come back and have to break the channel, it is all first-year ice which is much easier to break. this year is second year. we have gotten rid of the first year ice. the older ice, the harder it is, the salt and driirt and what no leaches out of the ice. >> how thick is this, commander?

>> fix foot out here. every once in a while, you get an eight-foot chunk. >> so do whales come up and visit the ship? >> i think they just try more to get into the area closer to mcmurdo. a soon as the ship breaks the ice, they just move right on in there as close as they can. you're in the cnn newsroom. i'm martin savidge. it is great to be with us. we will be talking about stories you will be hear about this coming week. let's get to our five questions. number one, when will this arctic blast go way? by wednesday, near half of the nation will be shuttering in temperatures of zero or below. tom has the output. tom? report martin, when