well. tomorrow, new year, new year, expert advice on turning your life around from chef jamie ol verse, jane paulie and sharon sheppard. "ac360 later" starts right now. good evening, everyone. tonight a deep freeze gets dwreerp and you'll be feeling it, even if you're someplace warm right now. from record lows to thousands of flight cancellations, we'll tell you what you need to know. also tonight, he says he was confident he was kicked out of the nfl because he stood up for marriage equality. the always outspoken chris kluwe interview. and inside the green rush. part one of our special series "gone to pot." the big business and growing bigger of legal marijuana. we begin tonight with cold that can kill and a freeze in parts of the countries for days on end.

take a look. this is not antarctica, this is detroit where shipping traffic is caught in ice and temperatures are well below 0. look at that picture. elsewhere, planes are grounded, schools are closed, first responders on emergency footing. other places are warm because the weather pattern couldn't stay put. more from stephanie elam. >> reporter: icy temperatures gripping the united states, coldest in nearly 20 years. the cause, a weather phenomenal known as a polar vortex. it makes temperatures plummet to major lows where you least expect it. just today, it was warmer in anchorage, alaska, than it was in southern cities like atlanta, georgia, and nashville, tennessee. here in minneapolis it hovered below 0 in the double digits but it felt like 40 below 0. this bitterly cold arctic air mass is not only one potentially for the record books, but the 0-degree chill is downright dangerous. >> 10 to 15 minutes, we're looking at a potential for frostbite, so for our kids

walking to school or have to wait at a bus stop, that's extremely dangerous and we don't want them in that situation. >> reporter: cold temperatures forced the closing of this school in illinois and many districts in the northwest. in minnesota alone, 2,000 public schools were closed today, affecting more than 840,000 students. and cities throughout the nation are making plans to bring homeless people off the street. snowy conditions prompted this spirited snowball fight in indianapolis on sunday. but in other parts of the midwest, including missouri, poor visibility and snow-packed roads became a challenge for drivers. a winter weather mix made a mess at airports, prompting massive delays and more than 3,800 flight cancellations today. roughly the same number got canceled on sunday. that's when this delta plane skidded off an icy runway at jfk airport. no one was hurt and the plane was towed with passengers on board back to the gate. as many as 140 million americans are feeling this freeze, which is expected to stick around for

at least a few more days. >> so, stephanie, you're in minneapolis. how cold is it there right now and, i mean, you look miserably cold. how cold is it expected to get over the next couple of days? >> reporter: it is pretty miserable, anderson, that's true. it's negative 15 right now, but if you factor in the windchill, which is really the problem, it is negative 39, they said right now. so, that's what it feels like. it is brutal with the wind around here. now, the relief is coming at the end of the week. by thursday, it should be like one whole degree or 3 degrees, then it will go up to 19 degrees, and that, i have to say, sounds actually pretty good right now, anderson. >> now, i understand it's so cold there, you can actually throw hot water in the air and it turns to snow? is that true? >> reporter: i saw this last night for the first time, blew my mind. we've got some hot water here for you. let's see if it works, anderson. live tv. here we go. >> that's crazy! >> it has to be really, really hot, and if you do that, you get the mist.

>> that is crazy. >> an unbelievable science project. >> i thought you were clutching some warm coffee. i was going it make fun of you because i've never seen a reporter clutching coffee during a live shot. that's incredible. stephanie -- >> no, it was all just for this trick. >> i don't know who you pissed off to get this assignment, but i do appreciate you being with us. stephanie elam braving the cold temperatures all day. now to chad myers in atlanta for a broader look at the wild temperature swings and what to expect next. what is the latest? >> it's still going to be cold for four more days in a lot of cities, so what you feel now is what you're going to have for a long time, even to the weekend. 38 below is what it feels like in minneapolis, 35 below in milwaukee, so big cities, tens of millions of people feeling this, also the pets are feeling it as well. make sure that they are not left outside in this kind of weather. it's 34 in new york. and as you said, that's great, nice and warm here. yeah, but it's 2 in altoona and that weather is moving that way. by tomorrow morning, new york city is down to 11, boston 54

today, down to 17 tonight and 12 tomorrow morning as we work our way into wednesday. it does warm up a little bit, at least by the end of the week. we start to see a little bit of an almost to normal, i guess that's what stephanie was getting to. hey, we're up to 3. at least we're positive! nashville 7, atlanta 16. everything frozen here. when i lived in d.c., it got down to 20, and all the apartment managers would say, you know, turn the water on, let it drip because otherwise, it's going to -- it's going to get down to 7. that's not 20. we're so far below where -- i mean, just sublime-type temperatures. what you can do to try to help your pipes from not freezing, if you don't have kids or pets or chemicals under the sink, is open the sink doors. at least some of the heat gets in there and you don't get the cold air trapped under your sink and all the pipes freeze, because when they melt, when the pipes melt, all that water just goes everywhere. there's our low tonight in atlanta, 7 degrees. schools are closed because they don't want kids to stand on the bus stop. i can completely understand

that. they don't make clothes in atlanta like they make them for minneapolis. they're just not that warm. atlanta should be 52. by thursday, 42. that might feel like a day at the beach. >> chad, what exactly is a polar vortex? >> i have that somewhere. what we have, on a normal day, there's the north pole, right through there, is you have a little jet stream going around the north pole, keeping the cold air up here, where it's supposed to be, but when you get a dip in this vortex, in this low, that goes all the way down to new orleans, all that cold air that's supposed to be making more sea ice is now down here, making ice in the midwest and the northeast. that's exactly how it happens. it's a big trough in the low pressure, a big trough right here in this jet stream. all that cold air goes straight south right to us. >> unbelievable. all right, chad, appreciate that. from weather now to sports and punting usually means dropping back, giving up the attack for a while. that is not, however, how chris kluwe plays on or off the field. as a punter for the minnesota

vikings, he used his foot as an offensive weapon and off the field, he pushed frequently for marriage equality, same-sex marriage for gays and lesbians, too loudly now, he says for his team, which released him before the 2013 season and now he's speaking out in deadspin, under the headline "i was an nfl player until i was fired by two cowards and a bilggot," talking about his former coaches and managers. he talks about his views and the bigotry he says he encountered from one of the coaches. little more than a month before the team released him, i asked chris what was driving him to speak out. i'm interested why you have been so vocal on this issue, because you don't see a lot of players coming forward and speaking out on this issue, straight players who are taking a very public stand on this. what was your evolution on this? >> well, i've always been raised to treat other people the way i would like to be treated. it's a fairly simple philosophy. you know, a lot of religions have it as a core tenant. and to me, it was the fact that

people are not being treated fairly. if i am fry to marry my wife and to raise my children, why are other people not free to do the same thing? that's what america is founded on, the freedom to live your own life. >> chris kluwe joins us again now tonight. he's taking part in athlete ally, an all-out principle 6 campaign, a non-discrimination campaign for the olympics in sochi. also part of "sparkleponies." i'm sorry to have you here under these circumstances. the article you wrote and the headline "i was an nfl player until i was fired by two cowards and a bigot." one of the cowards you talk about is your former head coach. the bigot you say is the special teams coordinator, the coach on the minnesota vikings. you say he said vehicocally to over repeatedly what you describe as homophobic comments. at one point, he said something about we should round up all the gays, send them to an island and

nuke it until it glows. he says you're going to hell along with the other gays. did other people, other teammates hear him say these things? >> yeah, there are witnesses to all the things i put in that piece on deadspin. and you know, i made sure that i had witnesses, because otherwise, that's a very easy defamation of character case, and you know, it would be pretty easy for him to prevail in a court of law. >> because that coach, particularly the special teams coordinator, he categorically denies this, says he has gay family members. what do you make of that? >> well, you know, it's not like he's going to come out and say, yeah, i said all those things, please end my career now, you know. generally, these things go through a certain legal process, but i am 100% confident in everything that i related is how it happened, and really encouraged by the fact that the vikings are taking it seriously and opening an independent investigation, because i think, you know, once they talk with people, they'll find out what happened. >> the thing about this independent investigation, and it's being run by two attorneys,

i believe, maybe one a former judge or a current judge that they don't have subpoena power. so, it's up to the players whether or not they want to cooperate or whether they just want to say, well, i don't remember what this person may have said. are you confident players will step forward and back up your account? >> yeah, i'm confident, because you know, it's the right thing to do. and then also, one of the things that i'm going to push for and will absolutely demand is the fact that there must be anonymity for these witnesses, because being blackballed in the nfl is a very real possibility, and that's not something i'm willing to force my friends, my former teammates to submit to. and if it means interviewing all members of the 2012 vikings in order to make sure that no one is singled out, then that's what it takes. >> i read your article that you wrote, and i mean, it is very detailed. have you been keeping notes all along about encounters you had

with some of these coaches and things they specifically said? >> i didn't start keeping notes until april, like i said in the article, when they drafted a punter and it was clear to me that my job was done with the vikings, because up until that point, i was under the impression that i would still be playing for the minnesota vikings. i had done everything the coaches wanted me to do, my stats were the same they had always been and i had no reason to think they were letting me go and nobody ever said they were dissatisfied with my performance. but once they drafted a punter, i realized i need to get all this down while it's fresh and make sure i have it because this is a story i'd like to tell later. >> the team categorically said this was just about your performance on the field, nothing about you speaking out. the owner of the team at one point praised you for some of the things you were saez ch saying and the coach seemed surprised by that, according to you, said i guess i've been over ruled. for those at home saying you're just bitter you've been fired, you're just coming up with this, this is just sour grapes, what do you say?

>> well, i would say that i don't have anything against the vikings organization itself. i had eight wonderful years with the minnesota vikings, and it was really great to hear zygi wilf come up to me and proclaim his support. what i will say is i had a problem with three individual people within the vikings, and the fact remains is that i did everything my coaches wanted me to do consistently throughout those eight years. no one ever told me that i wasn't doing what i was supposed to do, and the only thing that changed from year eight to when i got cut is i started speaking out on same-sex rights. >> the coach of your team, when you did start speaking out, several times said to you, please stop doing this, and he quoted another coach who said, you know, something to the effect of, you know, a smart coach once told me players shouldn't talk about politics and religion. was there at any point where you felt, you know what, maybe i should just stop speaking out? >> well, that was a decision i made very early on when i first committed to working with minnesotans for marriage

equality, is that whenever i do something, i'm going to do it to the utmost of my ability. i mean, if i commit, you're getting 100% of what i have. so, that meant that if i was going to speak out in favor of same-sex rights, then you know, i wasn't going to back down. i'm going to take this all the way, which means treating people the right way. and so, when it came to my head coach saying, hey, you need to stop speaking out about this, i said, well, no, that's not the right thing to do, you know. we are all american citizens. we all deserve the right to live our own lives free of oppression, and this is something that i think is important. this is something that i think needs to be addressed. >> is it possible that what they were annoyed about wasn't necessarily the topic you were speaking out on, on same-sex marriage, but on the fact that you were speaking out, that you were getting attention, that some, maybe they felt it was over shadowing what the team was doing or overshadowing other players on the team? i mean, you don't see a lot of nfl players speaking out on a lot of issues. >> um, yeah, i mean, it's possible they felt, yeah, maybe we don't want our punter to be

known in the media, but again, like i said, i felt that this was a cause worth speaking out on. and i think for the people who like to make the you're causing a distraction argument, a lot of sports pundits picked the minnesota vikings to have no more than five wins that year and we ended up going 10-6 and going to the playoffs. so you know, if that was a distraction, well, then it obviously affected the team in a good way. >> would you consider some sort of legal action against the team if you feel you were fired unfairly? >> i'm hoping to avoid that, because like i said, i really don't have any qualms with the vikings organization as a whole. this really is between me and three specific individuals. and i'm very encouraged by the vikings opening an independent investigation with these two individuals, because they have a good track record of getting to the truth and getting to it the right way. so, you know, legal option isn't off the table, but it is definitely an option i would prefer to avoid, because i still have friends in that franchise. i know a lot of people there.

and really, i'm just hoping to get this over with as soon as possible and get the right thing done. >> do you think you'll be able to play again somewhere else? do you think another team will have you? it's one thing to speak out, it's another thing to write this article saying your former coach is a coward and the special coordinating coach is a bigot. >> yeah, that pretty much threw the stick of dynamite on that bridge, but no, i think my time in the nfl is done. i mean, you can't write an article like that and expect to play again. and really, that's also why i'm going to insist on anonymity for the players, you know, who witnessed this, is because it's very much this could affect their careers. if you become known as a player that ratted on another player or ratted on a coach, then that affects your future employment. i mean, the jonathan martin case is an excellent example of that, in that jonathan martin may not play in the nfl again, not through anything he did, but just from the fact that he potentially broke the locker room code of silence, so to speak. >> well, chris, listen, i wish you the best and appreciate you coming on tonight. thank you.

>> yeah, no problem. thank you for having me on. >> we'll obviously continue to follow what happens. chris kluwe, let me know what you think, follow me on twitter, #ac360. just ahead, a young girl leaves the hospital with a death certificate from the local coroner, but renewed hope from her family. the question is, does medical science have any hope to offer? we'll talk to dr. sanjay gupta about this. later, just now learning why liz cheney dropped out of her senate race, ending what became a bare-knuckle political brawl for one of america's leading political families. more politics ahead on "360."

there are new developments in a story that is heartbreaking no matter how you look at is it. the emotionally charged legal and medical battle over 13-year-old jahi mcmath. she suffered complications after a tonsillectomy in california. her doctors and a judge declared jahi brain-dead. under california law, that means she is legally deceased. her family, though, believes otherwise. sunday she left the hospital. more on that from dan simon now. >> reporter: she is out of the hospital now, still attached to a ventilator, rolling down a dark highway in a private ambulance. her destination is still a secret, but jahi mcmath's future is just as certain as it was several weeks ago. she is medically dead, according to doctors. only a machine can keep her heart from stopping. yet, her family has refused to accept it, and even now speaks

in optimistic tones. >> i hope to have her come back home with 100% full recovery. >> reporter: jahi's mother has said she'll never let her go. >> she's not a corpse up there. it is a pretty 13-year-old girl up there that i gave life to. >> reporter: so, together, she and her family's attorney secured what they believe is a victory to get the teenager to a long-term facility that will look over jahi indefinitely. where exactly she's been taken they will not say because this case has produced such volatile rhetoric. >> we've had people make threats from around the country. it's sad that people act that way. so, for jahi's safety and those around her, we will not be saying where she went or where she is. >> reporter: we do know, howe r however, that a rehab center for brain injuries in new york has publicly welcomed her. >> this little angel is a true survivor, she's a strong little girl, eighth grade, 13 years old. she's in there, and she's

fighting all the way. her heart's beating strong, the power of prayer. she can come through this. >> reporter: and these kinds of statements medical ethicists say are the problem and does the family no favors. >> this is a tragedy of huge proportions. anyone who has lost a child, you know, our sympathies have to go out to them, but i think to be most sympathetic is to not perpetuate this intermediate state. >> reporter: but attorney chris dolan, who has been the family's fiercest advocate, insists this is about parental choice, about who has the final say on pulling the plug. >> what this family wanted was a chance, and i think that what's real important to understand is what this legal action was really about, it was about this young girl named jahi, but it was also about every parent in the united states who should have the right to make that choice, not a hospital who comes in and says today is the day

your daughter dies. >> reporter: and therein lies the problem, say doctors and ethicists, because jahi did die nearly a month ago. >> please, give her some more days. >> you got it, you got it. >> reporter: and so continues the tug-of-war between a grieving family and those who subscribe to painful medical realities. it's also a case that seems far from over. >> well, that's certainly true tonight. that was dan simon reporting. as you just saw, jahi's parents believe there is still hope for their daughter. whether or not their hope is justified, experience suggests that being as they are at the intersection of faith and medical fact, it's an agonizing place to be. as a practicing neurosurgeon, chief medical correspondent sanjay gupta's been there as families grapple with moments like this one. sanjay, she's left the hospital, sounds like she's ending up in a long-term care facility. what's her prognosis at this point? >> her prognosis is she's been declared brain-dead, and that's an irreversible condition, so there's really nothing to be said about prognosis or any of the other interventions that may

take place in terms of affecting her prognosis. it's a tough thing to hear, a tough thing to say, frankly, but that's the truth when it comes to brain death. we are talking about death. this is just another term for it. >> i mean, is brain death different than a persistent vegetative state or being in a coma? >> techniciit is, and i know yoe reporting on this as well, anderson, people who have seemingly recovered from deep comas. >> right. >> this is different, and terms matter here. people can be in a coma and still have brain activity. they can be in a persistent vegetative state and still have brain activity. with brain death, there is no brain activity. the higher brain functions as well as the lower brain functions, which control your reflexes in terms of breathing, controlling your heart rate, all these sort of basic functions of the body, that part's not working anymore. the only way that you have any of those functions at all is artificially through these machines. >> her family, though, is saying that she responds to touch. is that possible with somebody

who's been pronounced brain-dead? >> well, people can have movements that are more reflexive and more as a result of activity in the spinal cord as opposed to the brain. it's sometimes called myochlonic activity, jerky-type movements. and none is this is easy to talk about and i've had these conversations with families. the person who is brain-dead obviously is experiencing nothing, so it's not in response to touch. could it be coincidental in some way? perhaps. but you know, oftentimes, as you might expect, families see what they want to see, and that may be what's happening here as well. >> such a tragedy. sanjay, i appreciate the update. thanks. >> you got it. thank you. >> just so sad. as always, you can obviously find more on this story and others at cnn.com. just ahead tonight, new details on why liz cheney pulled out of the race for u.s. senate seat in wyoming. also, we're following the money in colorado, where the big business of pot is now legal. we'll take you inside.

hey, welcome back. "raw politics" tonight. new information why liz cheney dropped out of the u.s. senate seat in wyoming, citing health issues in her family. she was trying to unseat republican mike enzi. polls last year showed him with a big league. cheney's campaign was rocky, to say the least. some accused her of being a carpetbagger trying to coast on her father's coattails and connections. then the public feud with her sister mary over same-sex marriage. john king broke the story and joins me now with new details. john? john, the statement cites family health issues as the reason for dropping out.

do we know any more? >> i do, from several conversations from friends close to liz cheney and i'll respect the family's privacy, but some critics say she quit because she was losing the race. i can tell you, she is dealing now with two separate health issues and personal crises with two of her daughters and she just finally decided that the accumulative pressures that she needed to be a mom right now and not a candidate. but from all indications of the reporting is that these are serious challenges for the family. >> she was far behind in the polls. i mean, did she have a chance of actually winning? >> it's a great question. again, the cynics are saying, well, there are no independent media polls, we should make that clear, but there were polls conducted by political organizations that most of them showed her trailing by 2-1 or more to incumbent senator mike enzi. i would say number one, her campaign was off to a rough start and two, she's never ran for public office and her inexperience showed with embarrassing moments, but if you look at the tea party and conservative challengers who take on senate incumbents or

establishment candidates, mike lee is a senator from utah now, he beat bob bennett and closed very late in the race. senator richard lugar was defeated by a tea party challenger in indiana. that race changed very much late. rand paul ran in kentucky against an established candidate. that race closed very late. so, liz cheney was behind in the polls, we could see, but i wouldn't say she didn't have a chance, because often, the race was about her early on, which is unusual, because of her celebrity, the race was about liz cheney. come primary day, had she stayed in, it would have been more and more about the incumbent, mike enzi. >> allegations of her being a carpetbagger, she certainly had a lot of money behind her, but she wasn't sort of a -- she's kind of a neo con in terms of her foreign policy, not the traditional tea party candidate. >> exactly right. look, she was someone who's coming in and saying that mike enzi was too willing to go along to get along, too open to having conversations with the democratic president, barack obama, and his democratic colleagues in the senate, not tough enough on some issues, she would say, or at least that she

was tougher and better for the party. this is part of the philosophical debate going on in the republican party. you have some who have taken a break from, say, her dad's neo con views, vice president cheney's neo con views, like rand paul, who say let's be more libertari libertarian, more withdrawn from the world. liz cheney's quite the opposite, very aggressive, saying america needs a strong foreign policy. so, this was an interesting race, if you would, had it gone forward to air out some of the civil war philosophical differences in the party, but we won't get that now. >> and even philosophical disagreements within her own family, with her sister on the issue of same-sex marriage. if you had to wager a guess in terms of her political career, you wouldn't rule out a future run? >> i would not, and i would definitely not rule out future political activity. you mentioned the public disagreement with her sister around gay marriage played out around the holidays. that was part of this, too, a combination of things. the problem with her daughters, with her sister, this was a first-time candidate, and yes, part of the fact that she was

losing early was part of that. the accumulative effect, the stress and pressure, she decided she needed to be a mom right now and take care of her family. liz cheney wants to be active. most of her friends believe she wants to run again. she can be active in conservative forces, you can be sure of that. >> john king, thanks very much. >> thank you. there's a lot more happening tonight. susan hendricks has the "360 bulletin." anderson, a federal judge ruled that chicago's ban on gun sales is unconstitutional. the 2010 law was passed by the city council. the judge stayed his ruling to give city officials time to file an appeal. in another big ruling, the u.s. supreme court has put same-sex marriages in utah on hold while state officials appeal a decision allowing the unions. last month, a federal district court struck down utah's ban on same-sex marriages, ruling it violated principles of equal protection and due process. mary kay letourneau, the washington state teacher who served more than seven years in jail for raping one of her sixth grade students, was arrested again today. she is accused of driving with a suspended license and failure to appear in court.

letourneau married former student vili fualaau in 2005 and they have two children. at a festival in costa rica, an 1,100-pound bull throws a woman right into the stands. there she goes. luckily, she survived. she told a local tv station she was terrified at the moment, but now she can laugh about it. seeing that video's amazing. >> unbelievable. susan, thanks very much. just ahead, a lot of people are looking to cash in on colorado's newest growth sector, marijuana. you might be surprised by who is looking to invest. it's the first report in our week-long series "gone to pot." also, we're going to check in on the rescue mission still under way in antarctica. we'll be right back.

colorado, as you know, began the year with a pioneering move, becoming the first state where you can buy recreational pot, marijuana. the lines have been long, sales brisk. it's a story with huge implications and a lot of different facets. now, we're going to focus on a lot of angles in our special series this week "gone to pot." in a new cnn/orc poll we commissioned, 55% said they believe marijuana should be legal, more than half. that's a big shift in support. it was 26% in 1996, just 18% in 1973. there's another measure. today, just 35% said smoking marijuana is morally wrong compared with 70% back in 1987. over the next few days, we're going to look at why so many now support the use of marijuana and also why many still oppose it. no matter where you stand, one fact is undeniable, pot is big business, and in colorado, many people are looking to cash in, including the state's treasury. randi kaye reports. >> what's wrong with this one? >> this is the hong kong sour

diesel. >> reporter: at the grove in denver, it's hardly business as usual. this marijuana dispensary has gone from serving 25 to 50 customers a day selling medical marijuana to about 400 people daily now that recreational pot is legal. >> we definitely did get in at the right time. we were able to get on the bandwagon with the recreational. >> reporter: erin phillips and her husband own the grove along with seven other dispensaries around the denver area under their parent company strainwise. before this, they were in the real estate business. when they opened their doors on january 1st, the first day pot was legal here for those 21 and older, they were swamped by customers. >> it was very, very busy. we had people lining up before the doors opened. throughout the day we pretty much had about a 3 to 3 1/2-hour wait. we had people coming in the door just stunned. they were all like kids in a candy store. >> reporter: which is exactly

why investment groups are sinking money into colorado. arcview investments has dropped $3 million nationwide on cannabis companies, $1 million of that right here in colorado. arcview's ceo believes cannabis is the next great american industry and is predicting 64% growth in the next year. erin's husband, shaun phillips, says dispensaries here sure can use investor money. >> most retailers probably spent between $50,000 and $200,000 to get their shops up and going. a large grow could be anywhere from $400,000 to a couple million, depending on what they put in it. >> thank you. >> our best seller is jack flash. it gives you all of the effects of an indica, which kind of relaxes you, can put you to sleep, with also some of the effects of the sativa, which will keep you awake. >> reporter: can i take a smell

of it? >> absolutely. >> ooh, wow, that smells strong. >> it's very strong. >> reporter: they've sold about 20 pounds of marijuana every day. colorado residents can buy up to an ounce, but the grove more often sells an eighth of an ounce. so, let me get an idea of what an eighth of an ounce looks like. here it is right here. here at grove, this will cost you 60 bucks plus tax, so it comes out to about $73. now, one of the reasons that they're setting prices higher here is so they don't run out of supply, but this is the learning process, and the owners know they have to see how it goes, but they do expect prices to come down. >> you know, i think that this could be a very big year for us and the company as a whole. i can't give you specific numbers, but i think that we will do probably two or three times what we did last year based on the numbers that we've seen so far this year. >> reporter: the national cannabis industry association is projecting recreational marijuana sales will exceed $200 million in colorado this year, handing the state $67 million in

tax revenue. >> randi kaye joins us now live from denver. are store owners able to keep up with this high demand, randi? >> reporter: well, anderson, what's crazy is that some dispensaries have actually run out of their supply already, which is incredible, because this is just the first week. but here at this grow house, which belongs to shawn and erin phillips, who you saw in our story, they are, as you can see, in no danger of running out of supply. even though they're open seven days a week, they have 20,000 square feet of space here filled with marijuana plants, anderson. >> wow, randi. appreciate it. thanks very much. we'll have more all week on this. brian sweitzer is the former governor of montana who fought to keep medical marijuana legal while in office. he joins us now. so, medical marijuana is legal in your state, which probably a lot of people don't realize. what was your experience with it in montana? >> well, we passed it by initiative. nearly 70% of montana voted for it in 2004, but since the bush administration was still enforcing federal law, very few

people were willing to tread in that territory. so, there were probably only a few hundred medical marijuana cards that were issued. after obama was elected, the holder attorney general office issued what was called the ogden memo, and this was a fellow who worked there, effectively telling us states -- and i think there was 15 of us at the time who had medical marijuana -- that if your providers followed your state law, they were going to be hands off. and so, we states that had medical marijuana saw a marked increase in the number of consumers and producers. we had about 30,000 people in montana that were card-carrying medical marijuana users -- >> reputable business people -- >> main street businesses, county commissioners and police coming in wanting to make sure they followed the letter of the law. >> then the federal government cracked down. >> worse yet, we were in the middle of a legislative session, because people were concerned that some of the people that got the medical marijuana cards were just like dudes, you know, that wanted to smoke pot, and so they

got some doctor to give them a card. >> which is an issue. a lot of these places in california, it's like that. >> fair enough. and so, we were working on legislation that would close this thing up a little bit. the legislature sent me a bill repealing. i said, now wait a minute, 70% of montana voted for this and i vetoed it. let's get this right. we're in the middle of crafting a medical marijuana bill in montana that works. the feds came in, arrested a bunch of these people that were the largest producers and put them in federal prison. >> so, what is your -- while you were watching that piece, you would say be careful, colorado, folks in colorado because the federal government still views this as illegal. >> i wouldn't trust them. they did it to us in montana. >> to those who say, look, this is a slippery slope, do you believe the legalization for recreational purposes should occur? >> i think colorado and washington is probably a pretty good experiment. i think the federal government, like usual, ought to stay the hell out of the states' businesses. they ought to let states decide. if a state doesn't want medical marijuana, don't have it.

if a state wants medical marijuana and it passes through their legislature or citizen initiative, let them regulate it. >> how much money do you think this can bring the states, medical marijuana or -- >> this is interesting. colorado claims i think a 27% tax, when you consider all the taxes they're going to put it o it, and some think it could bring hundreds of millions of dollars. i don't think we know. >> to those who say, look, this is a slippery slope, this is going to encourage young people to start to use it. if it's recreational, legalized for recreational purposes. what do you say? >> well, we regulate alcohol, and we're not supposed to be selling it to people that aren't old enough to buy it, we're not supposed to be using it when we drive on our highways, but sometimes people do. i think probably every city in america, if you want to buy some pot, you can buy some pot from somebody. it's already out there. people have made those decisions. some people smoke pot now and some people will smoke pot after it's legal. i think we need to watch what happens in colorado and washington. let's just watch. and if those other 48 states

don't want to do that, let those states make those decisions. as usual, the federal government gets it wrong. >> governor sweitzer, always good to have you on. >> good to be back. up next, yet another rescue mission at antarctica after 52 scientists are pulled from a ship. new trouble. 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.

hey, a new rescue mission is under way off the coast of antarctica tonight. remember the scientists and crew members whose ship was stuck in ice on christmas day? after nine days trapped on the

russian ship, 52 passengers were rescued, taken by helicopter to an australian icebreaker and they're on their way. that is the good news, but now the chinese ship is stuck as well as the russian ship and an icebreaker is on its way to help. lawrence topham are with us. alex is from britain's "guardian" paper. last time i spoke to you guys it was new year's eve here, new year's day where you were. you were certainly in jolly spirits then. how goes it now? you've been rescued, making your way to land. how are you? >> i think we're all doing very well, aren't we? >> yeah, yeah. >> can we just say a huge thanks to the captains and crew of the vessel we're on at the moment. everyone's been brilliant and it's just fantastic to be heading home now. >> chris, how did the rescue go? because the video of it, it looks amazing. >> well, so, what happened was is we were ready for several days. we've been drilled to get our bags packed in a few hours'

notice, the helicopter would arrive and we'll be taken off to the chinese icebreaker. at the last minute it looked like the ship couldn't get there, so it was a new plan that came into action, and despite the fact that we were waiting for several days, the whole thing was over very quickly. it was a four or five-hour operation, and suddenly, we were all on board a new ship. and we've been trying to get ourselves used to it for several days. >> the chinese helicopter's amazing. the teams are turning around in 25 minutes, got everyone off the ship really incredibly well. everyone was very friendly. >> alec, i saw you tweeting about a patch of rough weather that you guys hit yesterday, a snowstorm in the southern ocean. that must have been tons of fun. >> well, it was very beautiful, actually. i was looking at it from the back deck of the "aurora australia." we're on the hellie deck and it was beautiful, all the way to the horizon on both sides, like a massive snow globe, and we're sort of sailing through open water, which is a novelty for

us, actually, given that we were stuck for about ten days. it was beautiful rather than scary, i have to tell you, but very, very, very cold. >> and lawrence, i understand -- >> what's incredible about where we are now is that a moment ago, the ship just sort of turned really kind of dramatically. there was this curve in the water, and we were trying to work out why, and we looked out and there were three beautiful whales just sort of swimming right by the ship. >> that's awesome. lawrence, i understand you're expected to make landfall tomorrow night. are you still on track for that? >> we believe we'll be arriving but i don't believe we'll be getting off the ship. they have a lot of important logistical work to do, so i think we're going to be staying put and keeping busy on the ship while they get on with their scientific research and stuff. >> let me ask you, there has been, as you know, some coverage on websites and climate change skeptics who point to the fact that this was a climate change expedition and it go caught in the ice and they read into that something about climate change. can you explain where the ice

came from, why this was an anomaly, why you got caught in the ice? >> absolutely, anderson. the key thing here was this was multiyear ice. this isn't single-year ice. we weren't frozen into such. this was old ice being mobilized by the weather. for some event, which we have to still drill down and work out, that ice, which was incredibly thick, 3-plus meters, got swept up and pinned us back. there does seem to be some confusion, the fact that the idea was it was suddenly a lot colder and we were frozen in. this wasn't the case. it was old ice that was moved about by the weather. >> the professor's being very polite there, but i mean, i've gotten no such compunctures. i think there's a lot of bunk stuff out there. this wasn't a climate change event, it was just a weather event. and the ice, as chris says, was old ice. it didn't form this year, so the arguments make no sense that we're hearing from climate skeptics out there. >> in terms -- i mean, obviously, this had been a huge adventure, not only as a

scientific expedition, but obviously, what happened, the fact that you're still out there. is there something that you will miss the most from this whole experience? >> the food. definitely. >> i think waking up every day and being able to see incredible wildlife out your window. when we were in antarctica, we were surrounded by penguins in commonwealth bay, and that's the sort of thing you just never get tired of. >> all right, that makes me feel bad now. that was also good. >> it was amazing being on the ship. we had an amazing crew there and we could carry on with our probe, doing our research, pushing on with our work. we're still continuing as best we can. the "aurora's" been so accommodating, but some of the things we want to do heading back north to new zealand we've not been able to do, but quite frankly, i'm just massively relieved everyone's going home safe and sound. there's a bit of a bond between everyone, being stuck on this

boat together and having gone through this experience as a group, i think there's a bond that's sort of developed between everyone. >> well, it's something that any of our viewers who have been watching our interviews over the last week or so will certainly agree with you that there is a bond there. your guys, your spirits have really been inspiring to a lot of people around the world and i appreciate that and appreciate you talking to us. thank you, and i wish you a speedy trip home. >> thank you! >> bye! >> thanks! >> bye! >> all very jolly all the time. keeping with the cold-weather theme, ri

time now for the "ridiculist," and tonight we have a revolution in comfort, a utilitarian coup, a downright marvel in repurposing. i'm getting ahead of myself. it's just very exciting. let's back up for a second. until now, if you wanted to keep warm but also look like a complete idiot, you had only a few choices. >> now there's the snuggie, the blanket that has sleeves.

the snuggie keeps you totally warm and gives you the freedom to use your hands, so now you can work the remote or read a book in total warmth and comfort. use your laptop without being cold or enjoy a snack while staying snuggly warm. >> when i say look like an idiot, i'm referring to myself because i have a snuggie as well. listen, a desperate nation called out for more. clearly, we needed jeans that you could sleep in as well. >> do you love stylish, sexy jeans? do you love soft, comfy pajama bottoms? now get the best of both worlds with pajama jeans, the hot new fashion sensation that fits every figure perfectly. >> yeah, we have access to pajama jeans, we can get a snuggie, but one man dared to ask the question, what if i made pants out of this sweater? that's right. ladies and gentlemen, i give you swants, part sweater, part pants, all wonderful, because as the creator of swants puts it, your booty deserves to be as warm as your torso.

clearly, the guy can make $1 million selling these on late-night infomercials, but swants are for everyone. and on the west knit website, where there's a handy guide to making a fetching pair of do-it-yourself pants. it's essentially step one, take off your pants, step two, put your legs in the arms and cut out the crotch. spreading this information is your post holiday gift for you, because if you got an ugly sweater, you can turn them into ugly pants and have a merry little swantsmas all throughout the bitter cold of winter. ♪ ♪ >> can't be real. . ♪ ♪

>> listen, it's cold out there, you need layers. i'm thinking long underwear, then the pajama jeans or swants and you'll be good to go on the "ridiculist." hey, that's it for now. "early start" begins now. have a good day. an historic deep freeze gripping the country. this morning, more than a dozen people killed, thousands of flights canceled, roads and schools shut down, government leaders warning residents to stay inside. but our indra petersons is outside live in the cold to explain what's coming next and why this is happening in the first place. look at her. she's smiling because she has to. good morning. welcome to "early start," everyone. i'm john berman. >> and i'm christine romans. she's frozen solid. that smile frozen solid on her face. it's tuesday, january 7th, 5:00 a.m. in the east. >> welcoo