smarter about that now than when i first came to k-town in the middle of the night to discover a strange and fabulous and delicious slice of america i had never known was there, but i'm trying to figure it out. a dangerous deep freeze across the country. this morning people waking up to record-breaking temperatures. right now cities taking historic actions to stay safe. this bitter cold shutting down schools, roads, creating chaos at airports. we're live with just how long these arctic temperatures will last as thousands of travelers wait for relief. good morning. welcome to "early start." i'm christine romans. >> and i'm john berman. it is monday, a very cold monday for a lot of people. >> brr! >> january 6th, 5:00 a.m. in the east. and the big story this morning is very much the cold. we hope you have a blanket or sweater or something to stay warm. people, it is cold, very cold, really cold, dangerously cold.

the deep purple you see there are the high temperatures in much of the midwest, although there's really nothing actually high about them. they are so low and these brutal temperatures are heading east as we speak. >> an about-face by chicago public school officials. they're canceling classes today after first announcing, though, the schools would be open. they reversed their decision because it's going to be, get this, minus 15 today with windchills in the windy city potentially making it feel like 50 below. overall, nearly two dozen school districts across the country will be closed today because of the bitter cold. get this, driving now illegal in indianapolis. that city is outlawing travel, except in emergencies, because of this deep freeze. this is the first time the government there has done that in 35 years. as we said, this is historic. it could feel as cold as 45 below 0 in indianapolis. >> wow! >> 45 below. the mayor says it's just too dangerous to be out on the roads. >> the temperatures that we're talking about are deadly.

this is a combination that is unlike anything we've seen in a long, long time. >> deadly conditions in minnesota, where it hit 20 below this morning. two bodies have been recovered from a car that plunged through the ice in the mississippi river in winona. recovery teams had to break through ice and use an underwater camera to find the vehicle. that vehicle ran off a road and through a guardrail early sunday morning. dangerous driving conditions in st. louis as well, so bad that drivers are being warned there not to get behind the wheel. officials fear snow coupled with wind could mean almost zero visibility. add in plunging temperatures and the likelihood for ice, they're simply calling the roads a disaster waiting to happen. >> wow. >> look at that. cold even plunging down not the south, atlanta. if you're waking up in atlanta this morning, you are set to see the coldest temperatures in more than 30 years. it's going to be colder in atlanta today than in anchorage, alaska. >> that's not right! >> that's actually going to happen, that after a wet, slippery morning today and

something georgia doesn't see a lot of, snow and ice. be careful out there. >> wonder if they've got moose like alaska. >> no, no moose. >> you're tracking this storm. andrew on twitter called this weather drunk weather. it doesn't make sense. >> it's kind of a nice explanation when you look at the map and how many people are looking at advisories for extremely cold temperatures, very atypical. many places seeing temperatures 30, if not 40 degrees below normal. of course, you're seeing the most dangerous portion where all that arctic air is farther to the north. and to the south, we're even seeing these cool temperatures spreading into the southeast. let's talk about the worst of the worst, where that arctic air mass is combined with higher winds out there. so, even any snow on the ground is blowing around. we talked about visibility issues, but it is the temperatures, that is the biggest concern. look at this. right now duluth waking up to what it feels like is negative 55 degrees. you can't even comprehend how cold that is. just five minutes outside and you have the threat for frostbite out there. minneapolis, a negative 44,

milwaukee negative 36. and these are what the current temperatures feel like, but even as we go through the afternoon today, notice their highs. their highs are staying in the negatives. that's a good almost 40 degrees below normal, and this is not staying just in that part of the country. notice in nashville, almost 40 degrees below normal, cincinnati today high of just 3 degrees. that's almost 45 degrees below average. and again, that is spreading all the way down to the south, where atlanta is a good 29 degrees below normal. their high expected today below freezing at 23 degrees. that is what we're dealing with. you may notice it is warm in the northeast currently, but that cold front is making its way through, so we are not an exception. this means the cold air is on its way. it's actually going to get colder by the hour today, the other way around. >> can't believe the drop, from 53 to 10 or something like that. >> windchill of negative 10 by tomorrow. >> cold is a four-letter word. thank you, indra. the weather made it very tough to get around this weekend in some of the nation's biggest cities, ice and snow grounding planes, thousands of flights canceled sunday, thousands more

today. alexandra field is live at new york's jfk airport, where one jet loaded with passengers actually skidded off the runway, alexandra? >> reporter: that's right, christine. a delta flight had landed here at jfk. the pilot said he was turning from the runway to the taxiway when the plane skidded right into a snow bank. 32 people were on board. no one was hurt, but the plane had to be towed from the runway. after that, jfk shut down for a couple of hours so those runways could be deiced. in aspen, colorado, over the weekend, investigators say high winds led to a deadly plane crash. the co-pilot of a small plane was killed when that plane tried to land at the aspen, colorado, airport. and in chicago, icy temperatures and blizzard-like conditions have forced the cancellation of half of all flights going into and out of chicago's o'hare international airport. all of these issues creating a ripple effect for passengers across the country. this morning the website flightaware.com is reporting that already more than 2,300 flights have been canceled for

today. that's on top of the 3,800 flights that were canceled yesterday. this is something that travelers, though, have been dealing with for days. hundreds of people have been camping out in airports since friday. of course, frustrations, we know, are running high, but the airlines say there's really nothing they can do to get these flights back on track until the weather clears. it could take days. and if you can see right where we are here at jfk, heavy fog this morning, only complicating the issue for people. about 400 flights are delayed right now in the new york city area. >> you'll keep us posted. thank you so much. nice to see you. >> the fog was crazy this morning. >> i couldn't believe it. >> couldn't see a thing coming in. on the subject of fog, the senate returns today from holiday recess, and on the agenda, extending unemployment benefits. a procedural vote is set for this afternoon on a bill that would give the long-term unemployed three more months of benefits. more than 1.3 million americans lost these benefits just before new year's, when the existing program expired. the senate is also expected to approve janet yellen to become the next leader of the federal reserve and one of the

most powerful people in the world. the vote later today is all but assured, yellen set to become the first female chair of the nation's central bank, replacing ben bernanke, who's stepping down after two terms. yellen has the tough job of unwinding of the fed's stimulus programs. it was another deadly weekend in iraq, where at least 18 people were killed in car bombings on sunday. hundreds have now died in fighting since january 1st as militants affiliated with al qaeda battled government troops in the anbar province. but secretary of state john kerry on a trip to the region says that u.s. forces will not be going back to iraq. he pledged continued support for the maliki government there. as for the main goal of secretary kerry's trip to the mideast, he is reporting possible progress in negotiations over peace between the israelis and the palestinians. he spent the last three days trying to find common ground, saying the path is now clearer but nothing is done yet. nic robertson following developments from jerusalem. nic, what's the latest?

>> reporter: well, john kerry describes his work here as a little bit like putting a mosaic together. he says where you get concessions from one leader on one issue, if you then ask or go for concessions on something else, then the other leader will change what they're willing to concede on another point, but what he says has happened is that there is some agreement on some smaller issues, and he sees that as a big positive. he is positive here, and he says some of the core issues are now on the table and being discussed. he is trying to get the leaders to agree to a framework agreement, which he says will kind of lock them into this pathway to get to a final status agreement. what is he talking about here? he says when he talks about core issues being on the table, under discussion, the future of jerusalem as a possible capital for both israelis and palestinians, security issues in the west bank, borders, what would they be, right of return for palestinian refugees and for palestinians to recognize israel

as a jewish state. so, it is the core issues, but secretary kerry, even after these intensive rounds of talks, still says he has some way to go in a tough process so far, john. >> the core issues that have been contentious for decades and decades. nic robertson for us in jerusalem. a lot of work still to be done there. thanks, nic. first on cnn, a famous daughter is dropping her bid to join the u.s. senate. sources tell cnn that liz cheney plans to end her campaign to unseat mike enzi in wyoming. she's going to make an official announcement as early as today. cheney made the decision to jump into this race last summer, mounting a primary challenge against a fellow conservative republican, raising a lot of eyebrows, but recent polls have showed enzi maintains a wide lead and cheney, she's had issues inside her family as well, publicly battling her sister over the issue of same-sex marriage. all right, the will hillary run game intensifies with another new revelation that could point to a 2016 presidential campaign. this time, it involves an e-mail

list. a super pac said to be helping lay the groundwork for a possible future run has now rented the e-mail list compiled by clinton's 2008 campaign, and it sent out an e-mail on sunday offering free bumper stickers. the former senator, secretary of state and first lady has publicly said she'll make a decision about running some time this year. >> phenomenal ad in politico about the campaign organizations being set up on her behalf. meanwhile, the current president, president obama and his daughters are back from vacation in hawaii, the trio returning to the white house sunday. but not with them, first lady michelle obama, who is remaining in hawaii for a few extra days ahead of her 50th birthday. the white house says this is part of the president's gift to his wife and mrs. obama will spend some time with friends before returning to washington later this week. >> sounds like a girls' trip. before she turns 50. all right. dennis rodman back in north korea this morning for yet another visit to practice what he calls basketball diplomacy. rodman brought a team of former nba players with him for an

exhibition game in honor of kim jong-un's birthday. he says he wants people to see north korea isn't that bad and to bring the whole world together. >> with the game, i hope to open the doors a little bit around the world, around the world, around the world. i just want to hope. of course, everything else, it's not my job, you know. i'm just -- i'm not the president, i'm not a politician. i'm not an ambassador. i'm just an athlete, individual that wants to go over there, that's it. >> but maybe he's a pawn? i don't know. coming up in our next half hour, we'll talk to karl penhaul in beijing about rodman's latest trip to north korea. >> this comes weeks after kim executed or ordered the execution of his own uncle there. so, a lot going on in that part of the world. coming up for us next, horror inside a new york city high-rise, an inferno that turned deadly 40 stories in the air. we have new video this morning. plus, breaking news overnight on a teenage girl whose tonsil surgery turned

tragic, next. [ fishing rod casting line, marching band playing ] [ male announcer ] the rhythm of life. [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that beat? campbell's healthy request soup lets you hear it in your heart. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy. [ m'm... ] great taste. [ tapping ] sounds good. campbell's healthy request. m'm! m'm! good.® ♪ ♪ ♪ life could be hectic. as a working mom of two young boys angie's list saves me a lot of time. after reading all the reviews i know i'm making the right choice. online or on the phone, we help you hire right the first time. with honest reviews on over 720 local services. keeping up with these two is more than a full time job, and i don't have time for unreliable companies. angie's list definitely saves me time and money. for over 18 years we've helped people take care of the things that matter most.

join today. there's nothing like being your own boss! and my customers are really liking your flat rate shipping. fedex one rate. really makes my life easier. maybe a promotion is in order. good news. i got a new title. and a raise? management couldn't make that happen. [ male announcer ] introducing fedex one rate. simple, flat rate shipping with the reliability of fedex. smoke? nah, i'm good. [ male announcer ] celebrate every win with nicoderm cq, the unique patch with time release smartcontrol technology that helps prevent the urge to smoke all day long.

help prevent your cravings with nicoderm cq. breaking news this morning from california, where jahi mcmath's body has now been released to her family. she's the 13-year-old who's been on a ventilator since complications from tonsil surgery left her brain-dead. it's not clear where she's heading. at least one rehabilitation facility in new york has offered to take the body. the family says they want to keep her alive with ventilators,

so she might have a chance to recover. the coroner, several doctors and the court have all said the teenager is legally dead. >> such a sad story. a sad story from hawaii as well where a 3-year-old has been allowed to die weeks after a dental procedure. finley boyle had been in hospice since late december. her family says she went to the dentist for several root canals but suffered severe brain damage. they allege she was sedated and left unmonitored for 26 minutes. her mother said that the tough decision to remove her daughter's feeding tube was the only choice. >> to see her go from a happy, healthy 3-year-old to, like, going through puberty and a diaper 15 years later is not a choice i was going to make. >> the family is suing the dentist's office for allegedly giving her improper medications. that office is now closed and

has not responded to cnn's request for comment. all right, in new york, a mystery and controversy over the killing of a brooklyn landlord. menachem stark's body was found in a trash bin covered in bruises and burns. he and a partner owned a real estate agency that owned dozens of buildings. they say they owed massive fines and tenants quoted living conditions there awful. the "post" posted a cover asking "who didn't want him dead?" the family calls it character assassination and they just want to know who was responsible for his death. >> i would never think if someone tell me a week ago something like this can happen in brooklyn, i would be amazed. >> the family demanding an apology from the newspaper, but the "new york post" says their reporting shows stark had a long list of enemies and it's standing by that controversial headline. an emergency landing after a security scare on a flight from san francisco to new york. the 767 touching down in kansas city after a flash drive was

found in a bathroom. a passenger found the device, told the crew, and it was forced to land for a security search. once authorities were assured there was no threat, everyone got back on the plane a few hours later, and it continued to new york. new rules now in effect for pilots, and they could significantly improve airline safety. the faa now requires at least ten hours of rest between shifts and 30 straight hours of rest each week. the 25% increase. in response, the airlines are adding new pilots and scheduling systems, the most sweeping changes in 50 years were adopted following a 2009 crash in buffalo that killed 50 people. all right, more and more americans coming down with the flu. widespread cases now reported in 25 states, doubling in just one week. the most severe activity seems to be in the southeastern united states. at least eight children have now died from the illness since september, but doctors say this is a typical season and it should peak some time in february. >> just what we want to hear about, the cold, the flu. >> you got your flu shot, right? >> sounds like winter.

i got my flu shot, you know, like in summer. way prepared. serious, new questions we have now about the dangers of oil and natural gas drilling. according to a new "associated press" review, hundreds of complaints have been made about well water contamination in at least four states that have fueled the nation's energy boom, but the report says differences in how each state reports the problems make it difficult to tell how serious and widespread the problems actually are. officials maintain that the problems are rare. new york may become the latest state to legalize medical marijuana. the governor, andrew cuomo, reportedly ready to allow hospitals to dispense it for select patients, but the system is said to be very selective. decisions made on a person-by-person basis. some 20 states and the district of columbia now allow for medicinal marijuana. a weekend fire in a new york city high-rise has left one person dead and others seriously hurt. this happened not far from times square. flames pouring out of the 20th floor of the 42-story apartment building. residents were forced on to the streets as they tried to escape

the flames. 27-year-old daniel mcclung -- that's him right there on the right -- he died in the fire, apparently from smoke inhalation in a stairwell. his 32-year-old husband, michael todd cohen in the hospital right now. they were just married last july. residents describe the chaotic scene and say management did not do enough to tell them what to do. >> they're banging on my door, they're telling me, hey, you've got to get out, it's a fire. i had to run down 18 flights of stairs barefoot. >> unfortunately, this fire, it appears that the victims may have originally been in their apartment safe and exited t through the fire and became a victim in the stairwells themselves. >> authorities say they could have survived unharmed if they had stayed in their apartment. you heard that right there. at least six others were treated for smoke inhalation. the investigation into the cause of the blaze is ongoing. the vatican insists it's not a policy change, but pope francis is making news again for what he's said about the church's treatment of the children of gay and separated

parents. we're just finding out what the pope told religious leaders back in november, including that different kinds of families present different challenges and priests must rethink how they treat children who come from nontraditional homes. so, the deep freeze across much of the country is spreading to the box office. disney's animated "frozen" is taking the top spot this weekend, shelling in more than $20 million. "frozen" has now grossed more than $600 million over the last seven weeks, making it the second highest grossing disney animated film ever! rounding out the top three, the horror spinoff "par normal activity." that had the scariest preview i've seen in my entire life. my wife was cowering in the theater during that preview. also on the list, "lord of the rings" prequel, "the hobbit" doing very well as well, and that's been out for a while. >> "frozen" is on my list. >> the "par normal activity," in and out unless you want cardiac arrest. >> i don't do scary movies. coming up, what is it, 5 degrees outside? this was certainly the coldest nfl game this year, but that

didn't stop the packers and 49ers from bringing the heat last night! "bleacher report" next. >> break it down. try head & shoulders for men. you can reach polamalu levels of flake-free scalp and hairness. check it. ♪ seven benefits every bottle. [ male announcer ] head & shoulders for men. i've quit for 75 days. 15 days, but not in a row. for the first time, you can use nicorette... even if you slip up... so you can reach your goal. [ male announcer ] now, quit on your own terms with nicorette or nicoderm cq.

welcome back to "early start," everyone. i'm recovering from a whole lot of football this weekend. four games, playoff games. almost all of them were awesome, capped off by the packers/niners playing in insanely cold temperatures. >> oh, man that was something. andy scholes joins us with the highlights in this morning's "bleacher report." good monday to you. >> hey, good monday to you, too,

guys. you know, this weekend, another great example of why the nfl is key. all of the games were must-see tv, especially last night, the frostbite bowl between the packers and niners. the game wasn't quite as cold as the legendary ice bowl. the temperature was 5 degrees at kickoff with a windchill of 10 below 0. that's still really, really cold. now, aaron rodgers was so cold, he couldn't feel these 49ers defensive linemen all over him in the fourth. he somehow escapes to find randall cobb for the go-ahead touchdown. two minutes to go, niners trying to answer, driving to win the game and colin kaepernick comes up with a huge first down. that led to the game-winning field goal from phil dawson. niners get the big win in the cold temperatures, 23-20. turning to bleacherreport.com, benga bengals/cardinals squaring off, philip rivers with the fade. check out the amazing catch by ladarious green, gets both feet in. san diego goes into cincinnati and stuns the bengals.

chargers win 27-10 and philip rivers pretty excited about going on to the next round. in case you missed it, the indianapolis colts made nfl history saturday night, rallying from 28 points down in the third quarter to beat the chiefs, and this play right here, guys, might be the heads-up play of the year. donald brown fumbled it, andrew luck picks it up and dives in for the touchdown. definitely a lucky play for the colts. indianapolis will now face the new england patriots on saturday night, the divisional round saturday afternoon. the saints will be at the seahawks. sunday the niners are going to play at the carolina panthers. that game will be followed by the rubber match between the chargers and broncos. they split their two matchups this season. all right, tonight, a champion will be crowned in college football. auburn the team of destiny taking on undefeated florida state. seminoles led by heisman trophy winner jameis winston are looking for their first national title since 1999. the tigers, meanwhile, they're looking for their second championship in four years. kickoff 8:30 eastern tonight.

i think i got auburn winning this one, guys. who have you got? >> i think that's a safe bet. i think i would go with auburn, the s.e.c. team, for sure, andy. >> you know what? you know what one of the biggest challenges of playing at lambeau field when it's so cold, back to the subzero temperature? keeping the beer from freezing. i'm not kidding. they spent all day keeping the concession doors closed until the last minute so the beer doesn't freeze. >> what i like about christine romans, her priorities are in check there. serious priorities there. andy scholes, thank you so much. appreciate it. >> have a good one, guys. >> top headlines, everything you need to know for the day. the n. open to innovation. open to ambition. open to bold ideas. that's why new york has a new plan -- dozens of tax free zones all across the state. move here, expand here, or start a new business here and pay no taxes for ten years... we're new york. if there's something that creates more jobs, and grows more businesses... we're open to it. start a tax-free business at startup-ny.com.

a huge arctic blast barrels across the country. people warned to stay indoors. cities and towns taking historic measures to stay safe. just how cold will it get? indra petersons tracking this dangerous deep freeze. breaking political news this morning, liz cheney with a big announcement about her run for u.s. senate. could she be pulling out of that race? and developing overnight. here he goes again. dennis rodman heading back to

north korea, and this time he's bringing a whole team with him. what's going on, you ask? we're live. welcome back to "early start," everyone. i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. it's 29 minutes past the hour and it's monday. the big news this morning, dangerous cold gripping much of the country. look at this map. the center of it shows you just how widespread these temperatures are, these cold temperatures are. in some places, it's the coldest it's been in almost two decades with windchills feeling like 60 below 0. >> get this, in chicago, schools are closed today because the temperature's not going to get above the negative digits. the windchill may make it feel like 50 below! that led to an about-face by chicago public school officials who changed course after first announcing that schools would be open. chicago is nearly one of two dozen districts now closed because of this weather. no driving in indianapolis. the mayor there saying conditions just too cold for travel. he's ordering everyone to stay where they are, except in emergencies. this is the first time the government has banned travel in

35 years. it could feel as cold as, what, 45 below 0 in indianapolis? the mayor says it's just too dangerous to be out on the road. >> the temperatures that we're talking about are deadly. this is a combination that is unlike anything we've seen in a long, long time. in minnesota, it hit 20 below this morning and two bodies have now been recovered from a car that plunged through the ice in the mississippi river in winona. recovery teams had to break through the ice and use an underwater camera to find this vehicle, as it ran off the road and through a guardrail early sunday morning. drivers in st. louis being warned, don't get behind the wheel. officials fear snow plus wind, plunging temperatures could be a disaster waiting to happen on area roadways. even the south feeling this cold. rain and sleet falling this morning on atlanta, followed by record low temperatures there, and there are real worries this morning that the commute could be a dangerous one with wet roads that could freeze. it's going to be colder today in atlanta than in anchorage,

alaska. let that sink in for a second. colder in atlanta than anchorage, and it's the middle of january. >> wow, that's something. you know what, everyone check on your elderly friends and relatives. i think that's a safe thing to do today. >> great idea. >> one thing to put your list. let's get to indra petersons to break this down for us. >> you may have heard particularly dangerous situation, talking about the severe risk for tornadoes usually, but today something different. we're talking about a particularly dangerous situation for temperatures that are so frigid that they are life-threatening. we're talking about places like minneapolis, places like sioux falls seeing temperatures this morning below 0, but not just below 0. look at these numbers, anywhere from negative 40 to even negative 65 degrees not out of the question. so, that's the concern. right now duluth negative 56 degrees with that windchill. what you have is this very cold arctic air mass, you have winds blowing through the area, and that combination bringing extra chilly temperatures and also some blowing snow, so many people there attempting to go on the roads. let's hope they're not.

visibility also poor in these regions. notice even through the afternoon, highs are still below 0 today. minneapolis looking for negative 14, a good 40 degrees below normal, even for them. this cold air, it has spread. it is no longer in just this portion of the country. it has spread all the way down. notice nashville 40 degrees below normal today. their high just expected to be 10 degrees. we even take you down into the southeast, same concern there. we're looking for those highs well below normal and below freezing. atlanta today even starting out with some sleet at 24 degrees. now, if you're on the east coast, you may be saying it is warm this morning. i noticed it was warm. well, there's a reason for that. we have a warm front in the region, but it is not going to be long lived. this cold air, thanks to that cold front, will be moving through. so, throughout the day, it's actually going to get colder by the hour. that is the concern. and notice by 5:00 today, temperatures will have dropped down to most likely just barely above freezing in new york city at 36, below freezing farther down to the south, and of course, by tomorrow morning we're going to be talking about windchills that look like this. pittsburgh could feel like negative 27 degrees tomorrow morning at this time.

>> that's just unbelievable. >> not fair. >> yeah. >> not fair. i saw on twitter, someone wrote "this weather is drunk," with 40-degree swings up and down. >> yeah, you may feel drunk when you're outside. you have no cognitive thinking anymore. >> thank you so much. the weather is being blamed for a lot of accidents on the roads and causing real problems for people getting around or trying to get around in the air. thousands of flights were canceled on sunday. thousands more today. alexander field is live at new york's jfk airport, where one plane actually skidded off the runway. what's the latest? >> reporter: good morning, john. the pilot of that delta flight says he was able to land, but when he was turning to the runway, the plane skidded and landed in a snow bank. 32 people were on board. no one was hurt, but the plane had to be towed back to the gate and the airport closed down for deicing. high winds were a problem in aspen, colorado, over the weekend, where investigators said the winds contributed to a deadly crash that killed the co-pilot of a small plane that

was trying to land there. and in chicago, icy temperatures and blizzard-like conditions have created chaos for travelers. half of all flights going into and out of o'hare international airport have been canceled. here in new york, the heavy fog is setting in this morning, only complicating the situation. 400 flights are canceled this morning in the new york city area. the website flightaware.com that tracks flights for you this morning, they're reporting that more than 2,300 flights nationwide are canceled, on top of 3,800 flights canceled yesterday. all of this a headache for travelers. hundreds of people spent the weekend at the airport. their frustration is running high, but the airlines say it could take days to get back on track. we'll have to wait for this weather to clear and then they'll have to get all of those displaced passengers wherever they were trying to go. christine, john? >> another tough, tough day. alexandra, thank you so much. appreciate it. the senate gets back to work today, set to take up this bill that extends unemployment benefits. a procedural vote set for this afternoon. if approved, it would give the long-term unemployed three more

months of checks. these checks on average about 300 bucks a week. more than 1.3 million people lost those benefits just before new year's, when an existing program expired. an emergency program that some republicans have said the emergency's over, we need to pay for it if we're going to extend th this. the senate today is also poised to approve janet yellen to become the next leader of the federal reserve. the vote is all but assured and yellen is set to become the first female chair of the nation's central bank. she will replace ben bernanke, who is stepping down after two terms. she is expected to continue many of his policies and oversee the unwinding of the fed's stimulus policies. secretary of state john kerry insists u.s. troops are not heading back into iraq. that after another deadly weekend there. car bombings killing at least 18 people in baghdad. hundreds have died in fighting and other violence in just the last six days. as the government fights militants, a fight some say iraq cannot win without u.s. help.

nic robertson monitoring developments for us from jerusalem. hi, there, nic. >> reporter: hi, there, christine. well, a lot of the fighting focused around the town of fallujah. fallujah is in the western province of al anbar. this is a majority sunni area. the rest of iraq is majority shia. it's a shia-dominated government. the army is shia-dominated as well. and what the prime minister is telling the army right now is when they shell fallujah when they attack fallujah, and that may be beginning right -- may be happening right now. there were some elements of it happening over the weekend. to avoid civilian casualties. a lot of people trying to get out of fallujah as well over the weekend. but what this is, the prime minister's defining this as an uprising by al qaeda. the people in the fallujah say, no, this is the tribes, the sunni tribes against and angry with the shia-dominated government. but whatever the nature, and it's very hard to tell on the ground there.

getting accurate information is tough. whatever the nature, john kerry has said and was saying this weekend from here that the united states is watching very closely, that it will be supporting the iraqi government. it won't be sending any troops. but of course, he said al qaeda in that area are the biggest threat to the region, christine. >> all right, nic robertson, thanks so much, nic. we're going to move on now to some breaking news you heard first on cnn. liz cheney is dropping her campaign for the u.s. senate for the seat in wyoming. sources tell cnn an official announcement could come as early as today. now, cheney first made the decision to jump into the race against fellow republican mike enzi last summer. it was controversial when she made that decision. but recent polls have shown enzi maintains a wide lead and cheney has publicly battled with her own family over the issue of same-sex marriage in a very, very public way. unclear whether the family battle is over, but the senate battle at this point is. all right, first lady michelle obama is getting a little time alone. she's staying in hawaii for a

few extra days after her husband and the first daughters headed back to washington. mrs. obama turns 50 in a few days, and the white house says the extra time in the aloha state is part of president obama's gift to his wife. mrs. obama will spend some time with friends before returning to d.c. coming up, dennis rodman at it again, headed to north korea for a game. he says he's not a politician. he says he's just going to play basketball for his friend, the dictator, kim jong-un. what's going on here? is this really a good idea? and can anyone stop dennis rodman? we're live, next. [ male announcer ] the new new york is open. open to innovation. open to ambition. open to bold ideas. that's why new york has a new plan -- dozens of tax free zones all across the state. move here, expand here, or start a new business here and pay no taxes for ten years...

we're new york. if there's something that creates more jobs, and grows more businesses... we're open to it. start a tax-free business at startup-ny.com.

welcome back to "early start," everyone. dennis rodman. you were hoping to hear this, right? he's at it again, returning to north korea today with a few ex-nba players for an exhibition game in honor of the man he calls his friend, kim jong-un. this is for kim's birthday. quite a present. rodman's goal, he says, is to show north korea isn't that bad. these are his words, not that bad. north korea, the country where kim just executed his uncle a few weeks ago. karl penhaul is following this story. he's live in beijing for us this morning. karl, what's the latest? >> reporter: well, john, of course these trips are controversial because north korea has a dire record on human rights and because the regime

quite frequently threatens to unleash nuclear war. add to that that american missionary kenneth bae is doing hard time in a north korea labor camp, but rodman and his team of nba all-timers have broad shoulders, they're unfazed, and they really do believe that they can build some bridges. >> one thing is showing people that we can actually get along. just get along. not politicians, nothing like that. i'm not trying to save the world. i'm not trying to save kenneth bae, all these people. it's not my job. not my job. my job is one thing, sports, and they love sports and he loves sports, and that's it. >> reporter: now, we know that the swiss-educated kim jong-un is a big basketball fan, and going along for this birthday basketball bash, along with rodman, charles d. smith, we've got doug christi, we've got vin baker, we've got eric floyd. some people are describing this as basketball's version of that

movie "the expendables," where a team of has-been action heroes get together for one last mission. what we've got to see, though, is whether rodman's main mission is to party with a dictator or whether he's planning a diplomatic slam dunk. john? >> a lot of big names there, karl. you have to wonder what the family of kenneth bae thinks right now watching these american basketball players go to north korea when their family member, kenneth, is still in prison there. karl penhaul from beijing this morning, thanks so much. >> and you have to wonder about the assurances of security for those basketball players as well. all right, breaking news from california where a 13-year-old declared legally brain-dead has now been removed from a hospital by her family. jahi mcmath has been on a ventilator since complications from tonsil surgery left her brain-dead. it's not clear where her body is heading. at least one rehabilitation facility in new york has offered to take her. the family says they want to keep her alive so she might have a chance to recover. the hospital says she is legally dead. >> such a sad story for that

family. and another sad story, a 3-year-old in hawaii has now been allowed to die, months after undergoing a dental procedure. finley boyle had been in hospice since late december. her family says she went to a dentist earlier in the month for several root canals but suffered brain damage. they allege she was sedated and left unmonitored for 26 minutes. her mother said the decision to remove her daughter's feeding tube was the only choice. >> to see her go from a happy, healthy 3-year-old to, like, what going through puberty and a diaper, you know, like 15 years later is not a choice i was going to make. >> it's so hard. the family is suing the dentist's office for allegedly giving her improper medications. that office is now closed but has not responded to cnn's request for comment. all right, now to new york, where a weekend fire has left one person dead and others seriously hurt. the blaze breaking out in a high-rise apartment building not far from times square. flames pouring out of the 20th

floor of this 42-story tower. residents forced on to the streets as they tried to escape the flames. 27-year-old daniel mcclung -- that's him on the right -- died apparently from smoke inhalation in a stairwell. his 32-year-old husband, michael todd cohen, is in the hospital. they were only married last july. residents describe a chaotic scene and say management didn't do enough to tell them what to do. >> they're banging on my door, telling me hey, you've got to get out, it's a fire. i had to run down 18 flights of stairs barefoot. >> unfortunately with this fire it appears that the victims may have originally been in their apartments safe and exited the fire and became a victim in the stairwells themselves. >> terrifying. at least six others were treated for smoke inhalation. the investigation into the cause of that blaze is ongoing. also in new york, a mystery and controversy over the killing of a brooklyn landlord. menachem stark's body was found in a trash bin covered in bruises and burns.

he owned a real estate company that apparently owned dozens of apartment buildings. the "new york post" says the company owed thousands in fines for building violations and quoted tenants who called living conditions there awful. the "post" even published a cover asking, look at that, "who didn't want him dead?" the family not happy at all about that cover calls it character assassination and just want to know who is responsible for his death. >> i would never think if someone told me a week ago something like this could happen in brooklyn, i would be amazed. >> the family is demanding an apology from "the post," but the newspaper says its reporting showed stark had a long list of enemies and is standing by the controversial headline. a security scare on a flight from san francisco to new york, leading to an emergency landing. the 767 touching down in kansas city after a flash drive was found in a bathroom. a passenger found the device, told the crew and the plane landed so the plane could be

searched. once authorities were confident the drive was not a bomb, everybody got back on the bomb and the plane continued on to new york. >> glad i wasn't on that flight. coming up on "new day," chris cuomo and kate bolduan join us now. >> welcome back! >> thanks, happy monday. >> good to be here. thanks for holding it down for me. my family appreciates it. >> i appreciate your family. >> now i come back here from a warm place and it is freezing. we are going to follow this historic cold, because that's what it is, literally record-setting, slamming more than half the country, creating serious problems at the airport, but forget about that. 2,000 flights are canceled. that's a big number, but it's the temperatures and how people are dealing with it in their homes, their schools, places of work. schools are being shut down. it is literally deadly. we'll show you how people are coping and which way the front is headed. and we're also going to be watching, talking about the weather. that deadly plane crash at aspen's airport, it killed one person. several celebrities actually witnessed the accident. it's a pretty small airport, if you've ever been there. just look at how that ended up. we're going to have the details and the latest on how that crash

happened and what they're doing to investigate it now. and also, we're going to have a little bit -- remember the tiger mom book? >> oh, yes. >> controversial? there's a new book out that she co-writes with her husband, and it's also controversial. here's why. she's claiming in the book, or they're claiming, that there are certain cultural groups which she delineates, that are superior to the rest of us and that they do better in america because of three main qualities that they have. now, the obvious speculation, when you separate like this, are you just a racist or do you have solid science? is it helpful? we'll get into all of it. there will be a debate here on the show about it. >> and the biggest question, how many books will she sell? >> that's right. >> what made her a best-seller. >> controversy often drives the sales, so we'll see. >> absolutely. thanks, guys. >> thanks, guys. coming up for us, in just a few hours, she will be one of the most powerful people in the world! we'll tell you what you need to know about janet yellen and what she means for your money, because that's what you care about. money time is next.

peoi go to angie's listt for all kinds of reasons. to gauge whether or not the projects will be done in a timely fashion and within budget. angie's list members can tell you which provider is the best in town. you'll find reviews on everything from home repair to healthcare. now that we're expecting, i like the fact i can go onto angie's list and look for pediatricians. the service providers that i've found on angie's list actually have blown me away. find out why more than two million members count on angie's list. angie's list -- reviews you can trust. open to innovation. open to ambition. open to bold ideas. that's why new york has a new plan -- dozens of tax free zones all across the state. move here, expand here, or start a new business here and pay no taxes for ten years... we're new york. if there's something that creates more jobs, and grows more businesses... we're open to it. start a tax-free business at startup-ny.com.

welcome back to "early start," money time this monday morning. okay, this woman i'm going to show you now is arguably going to be the most powerful woman -- >> you? >> -- in the world by tonight. not me. >> oh, not you. the other most powerful woman in the world. >> janet yellen, not only the most powerful woman, but perhaps person in the world. she is expected to be confirmed

by the senate to be the first woman to run the fed in its 100-year history. but for a lot of people who follow money, that's not the headline. the headline is, she's going it take over ben bernanke's place when his term expires this month, and that job unwinding the fed stimulus will be very, very important, a very big deal for your money, and it's a very big week for your money. we'll get a look at how much money companies are making. they issue their sort of quarterly reports cards this week. you'll hear from alcoa, bed bath & beyond, family dollar, a whole bunch of them. we'll be looking at the earnings quality. if the earnings quality is good, maybe that will fuel the wall street rally into 2014. on my show this weekend, cnn's "your money," there was a clear difference of opinion between the bulls and the bears on the health of this rally. listen. >> the best asset class out there right now is stocks, and there's so many individual investors that missed out on this big rally that are going to be rushing into stocks first few months of this year. >> i think monetary policy has created a bubble in equity prices, not so much that they're historically expensive, but what

you have going on is they're well beyond the prices they would be without the fed help. >> translation? some people think this thing keeps going. others think that there's a bubble from the fed and it's going to, you know, it's going to pop. the fed is going to be watching one very important, close jobs report, something really important on friday, the december jobs report. the expectations for payrolls, 195,000. 203,000 is what we had in november and jobless rate expected to stay at 7%. think about this, it is now legal to smoke marijuana in colorado, but your boss can still fire you for it if it happens off campus, on your own time? doesn't matter. it's an interesting turn for people who thought legal pot would have few strings attached. >> amendment 64 allows employers to have and enforce their drug policies, which means if somebody is inclined to drug testion and marijuana is one of the drugs they test for, somebody comes up positive on the test, the employer can take whatever employer action they deem prudent. >> so, colorado says that

recreational pot use may be legal under state laws, but isn't under federal law. it has to be legal under both for workers to be covered under employment protection laws. all the rights in this case belong to the employer. so, if you smoke pot outside of work legally, you could still get fired if it shows up on your drug test. and it's interesting, because when you look at the ski resorts and a lot of the big tourism companies, they've been trying to figure out, how are they going to manage recreational pot use on their premises, both by their customers and also by their employees. >> it's a legal twilight zone. every day in colorado -- >> you're going to see legal challenges. >> every day new ground is broken and we're learning new things. five minutes before the hour right now. coming up, if you don't have it, someone you know just may. you're going it hear the coughing, the wheezing, oh, no! we're talking about the flu. cases are growing across the country. we'll have details right after the break. we are a lender in the new

york city area in rent regulated housing. we are in a position to create better banks down the road, and by doing that, we create real value for our shareholders. if we create greater value for our investors and safer banking institutions, everybody wins. the new york stock exchange is where we evolve to, so as we became a bigger and bigger company, we needed to be on the new york stock exchange. ooh, ho! yeah... [ male announcer ] campbell's homestyle soup with farm grown veggies. just like yours. huh. [ male announcer ] and roasted white meat chicken. just like yours. [ male announcer ] you'll think it's homemade. i love this show. [ male announcer ] try campbell's homestyle soup. i've quit for 75 days. 15 days, but not in a row. for the first time, you can use nicorette... even if you slip up... so you can reach your goal. [ male announcer ] now, quit on your own terms with nicorette or nicoderm cq. ♪ 'take me home...'

♪ 'i'll be gone...' ♪ 'in a day or...' man: twooooooooooooooooo! is that me, was i singing? vo: not paying for scheduled maintenance feels pretty good. no-charge scheduled maintenance now on every new volkswagen. that's the power of german engineering

>> it is not too late to get your flu shot. you know what? you really might need it. the cdc now says flu activity is

kicking up with widespread cases in 25 states, the number of cases doubling. at least eight children have died. at least eight children have died. it is serious, folks. think about getting the vaccine. we'll have crucial tips in the "7: 7:00 hour of "new day." >> crucial tips. don't touch my pen. "new day" starts right now. >> temperatures we're talking about are epic. >> deadly cold. 70 below in some parts. so cold it's deadly and schools are closing all over. how are people coping for the worst cold in decades? >> and two planes skidding off

runways over the weekend and a plane crashes as celebrities watch in horror. what went wrong? liz cheney dropping out of a race for the senate. her bid caused a huge rift in her family. >> this is "new day." >> good morning. welcome to "new day." it's monday, january 6th, 6:00 in the east. americans are waking up in the midst of a polar vortexes a deep freeze that is literally deadly. from now till mid week parts of the country will face wind chills as low as 60 below, numbers that haven't been seen in two decades. the wind chill temps right now