tonight at 11:00 eastern, "frozen, state of the south." cnn's special live coverage. at 11:30, justin bieber's wild ride. that's all for us. "ac 360" starts right now. >> good evening, welcome to "ac 360 later." keeping them honest, tonight on the snowstorm that crippled a major american city. and the blizzard of blame shifting that's followed. this is what just 2.6 inches of snow and ice did the atlanta metro area as it hit yesterday. some of those people down there, they just got home this evening. thousands actually left their cars, walked after running out of gas or simply running out of patience. some who stuck it out had to sleep in their vehicles. others were able to take shelter in stores and churches and public buildings, wherever they could find a warm place just to lie down or to sit down in some cases. thousands of area kids slept at schools. some got home only a few hours ago after a night in the gym or the cafeteria.

officials in one of the big suburban atlanta counties report that 911 operators dealt with almost ten calls a minute all day from people stranded by the storm. the fact that it hit just before rush hour in a southern city that hasn't seen much of this kind of thing, the schools, state offices and local businesses all open, that obviously did not help. but keeping them honest, a lot of people may have been led to believe that their officials were on top of the storm when they weren't. yesterday morning, atlanta's mayor tweeted, atlanta, we are ready for the snow. here he is in with the governor accepting an award, nothing to worry about, he said, we are ready. as for governor deal who is responsible for all the miles of highways that are a mess now and beginning to refreeze, he also found time to host an event yesterday promoting georgia tourism, complete with scarlett and rhett butler impersonators.

he issued no warning until just after 4:00 p.m., well into the traffic nightmare. here's how he described it just a short time later. >> we have been confronted with an unexpected storm that has hit the metropolitan atlanta area. >> keeping them honest, it was hardly unexpected or unforeseeable. not by a longshot. all he had to do was turn on the tv starting monday. chad myers predicted it a day before, so did the weather channel. the two dozen meteorologists at delta airlines also saw it coming and were canceling hundreds of flights. by today, the governor was no longer saying he had no warning but still pointing fingers. >> i did not mean to imply that we didn't know something was coming. what i was referring to was -- >> keeping them honest, that is not quite true either. watch. >> this is what's going on with

the winter weather advisory and the winter storm warnings. it goes until tomorrow morning. temperatures are not going to rebound really at all today. it's going to stay cold. could see accumulations of one to two inches, parts of metro atlanta. >> that's from yesterday's noon broadcast. and the expanded national weather service warning covering the atlanta area about an advisory that was already nearly nine hours old. again, it would take more than four hours for the governor to issue a warning. we invited the governor to come on the program tonight he declined. we also asked michael holmes to come on with us, and he said yes, thankfully. michael, what is it like out there now? >> it's cold, i can tell you that, anderson. any moisture that's still around on the ground is going to be frozen by now. that is a bit of a concern. you mentioned all the cars. we were at one point here on 75 north, one of the main freeways that runs through atlanta. this is just some of thousands of cars, we've been all over the enter straits all day today. thousands of cars just abandoned by the side of the road and they are still here. on the door handle, there is yellow tape.

the police have gone through here last night and today and just marked those cars to say they have looked in them and nobody is in them as a bit of a sign to everyone else. there's a lot of police around, they've been very active, making sure there's no looting going on, i have to say. and in fact, they've stopped and checked on our welfare several times. the national guard came by just after we spoke to you a couple hours ago and said are you okay? so a lot of activity. but these people ran out of gas or as you said, they were sitting in this traffic for six, seven, eight hours and just gave up. and so, yeah, the remnants are here for all to see, literally thousands of cars, all over the freeways of atlanta and the side streets, anderson. >> how do they deal with that? are they planning to tow the cars? are they hoping people come back for the vehicles? >> reporter: it's interesting. they're hoping that people have been coming back today.

we haven't seen many do that. we've seen some. just up there, there's three cars in the middle of the off ramp. you have to go around them to get off the freeway. what they're going to do tomorrow, and they're just announced this an hour or two ago, the department of transport, they're going to set up a couple of meeting points in key places and they're asking people to come there and they will be taken to their cars in four-wheel drives along with gas and jumper leads and whatever they need to get them to the sides of what are normally busy freeways and get their cars and get them out of here. other wise, they're just going to have to tow them. because it's a problem. you can see the freeway is here, and it's been like this for hours now, empty. nobody is on the roads anymore, because they're all at home. a bit of a shutdown today, tomorrow no school and people have been told to stay at home if they can to let this all thaw out properly. anderson? >> michael, thanks. this problem all began with

schools letting out, businesses letting out early, basically close to a million people on the highways all at the same time. the frozen roads. at one point yesterday, 5:20 p.m., the number of people stuck in traffic, it grew by one. take a look. there she is, grace anderson. she's doing fine tonight. so is amy her mom. and nick her dad. they talked about their adventure tonight on piers morgan live. >> it was all a blur. we were going and my husband's driving on the side and everyone's beeping at us because they're all in the gridlock. but we came to a spot that we couldn't get through it all, so that's when i told him, we're going to have the baby in the car. >> unbelievable, the story has a happy ending. in large part to a police officer named tim sheffield. i spoke to him during the 8:00 hour. you were on your way to an accident when you saw this car and decided to pull over. walk us through what happened. >> yeah, i was on my way to an accident on 285, just before

riverside drive. and i was checking on stranded motorists as i was going along and i saw this suburban pulled over, and the driver was out of the car. so i got out and i said, are you stuck, are you okay? he just told me, he said no, we're having a baby. i could tell that he was on the phone with 911, which they did an awesome job. i could hear them talking. i walked up and looked and said the baby was just about to come on out. i got my first aid kit and i walked back up there and the dad was real calm, and the mom was a super trooper. she was doing awesome. >> how long had they been there, do you know? >> that, i don't know. i didn't really get to talk to them much. by the time i got there, about a minute after i arrived, the baby was being born. >> wow. >> i didn't get a chance to talk. but i could hear the 911 dispatcher talking to him, walking him through, doing a great job.

>> have you ever delivered a baby before? is this something you're trained to do? >> no. there is no training, but i've been doing this a while. i have delivered before, but never on the side of an interstate in an ice storm. >> i can imagine. yes, it's a pretty unique circumstance. >> the father did -- the mom did all of it really, because that baby was definitely coming, no matter what. who said anything, the father did great, and he -- i was just there to assist. but it was definitely an awesome experience. >> and what happened after the baby was born? did you take them away? how do you -- what happened to them? >> once the baby was born, because we were the only ones there, and then i looked up, i looked down to my medical supply to get a blanket to put the baby in. i looked to my right and the fire department and the emergency expeditions pulled up. and they came over and one of the firemen, he did a great job. he had the equipment.

he came over and started cleaning off the baby. so i backed out of his way and stopped some of the traffic so i could get the ambulance in there. they loaded up the mom and the baby and they drove off and the father followed in behind them. i just left there and went down about a half mile and started working the accident with the jackknifed tractor trailer. >> you just kept on working. that's the job of a police officer, i guess. i also understand it was your birthday yesterday, is that true? >> it was. and that's what i had told the father. i said, it is a girl, right? he said yeah, it's a girl. i said that's awesome. and today is my birthday. so it was a neat birthday surprise. >> you and baby grace now share a birthday. i'm sure it's one you'll never forget. >> i will never forget. and the father, he was -- he looked like a pro. he was just calm and collected. and the mom, with no pain

medicine, she just -- she was definitely a trooper. >> unbelievable. officer tim sheffield, listen, i appreciate all you do and not just yesterday, but every day and i appreciate you talking to us. thank you. >> thank you very much. >> amazing story. up next, justin bieber turning himself in on a serious new charge tonight in toronto. we'll bring you details on that. later, my conversation with erick munoz. about the wife and mom he loved and whose wish not to be kept on a ventilator he finally got to honor. >> i promised her, i told her, i will honor your wishes for me and your dad. that was the hardest. we looked her in her eye and told her, and for the state of texas to not let us go that was hard. you know, you want to keep your word to your loved one. [ male announcer ] here's a question for you:

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breaking news tonight. justin bieber has left the building, leaving the toronto police station via back door away from cameras. that's not how he arrived. this is somewhere in the middle, he is there. and yes, he's got a new legal problem, an assault charge with a court date set march 10. police are saying little. just before air time, a representative for justin bieber put out the following statement. the matter is now before the court, it would would be inappropriate to discuss the specifics.

no new details from the bieber camp but more from randi kaye. >> reporter: what happened on december 29 last year in toronto is still unclear. but it's justin bieber who may be on the hook for it. the pop star traveled to canada tonight to face an assault charge in connection with an encounter with a limousine driver one month ago. according to cbc news, toronto police were called that december evening in response to an alleged assault involving a limousine driver. at the time, it was reportedly unclear if the incident was connected to justin bieber or a member of his entourage. bieber was booked at a police station and given a notice to appear in court at a later date. this is the closest trouble has come to bieber's home. having been born in ontario and raised in stratford. the media in canada is reporting that bieber was seen at the toronto maple leaf's game on the night in question, but investigators believe justin bieber was in the limo at the time of the alleged assault. last time he found himself on

the wrong side of the law, it wasn't a limo, but a lamborghini. just after 4:00 a.m. in miami on january 23rd, bieber mouthed off at police who accused him of drag racing. he was arrested and charged with dui, driving without a valid license and resisting arrest. tonight, he pled not guilty to those charges. bieber went ballistic on the officers during the arrest. what the f did i do? why did you stop me? when the officer performed a routine patdown, it continued. i ain't got no "f"-ing weapons. what the f is this about? after his arrest he just kept talking. >> mr. bieber made statements he had consumed some alcohol and he had been smoking marijuana and consumed some prescription medication. >> mr. bieber, you are charged with the following. >> reporter: his arraignment was

set for february 14th, valentine's day. then bieber was released on $2500 bond. with bieber's arrest wednesday night, it will be his second in a week. and remember, he's still under investigation for allegedly pelting his neighbor's house with eggs earlier this month. causing $20,000 in damage. randi kaye, cnn, new york. >> now to equal justice. our legal panel, former federal prosecutor sunny hostin and defense attorney very well known, mark geragos join us. mark, we have this alleged assault on a limo driver in toronto. the dui and resisting arrest incidents in miami. the alleged egging in l.a. county of his neighbor's house. then this just a short time ago as he was about to turn himself in, he posts this photo on instagram. he just seems like he's out of control. as a lawyer, what do you do?

>> as a lawyer, he's 19. i suppose i'm envious that he's the most famous pop star in the world and busted in a yellow lamborghini and he's got 29 million followers. i don't know that he's out of control. he's 19 with more money than he knows what to do with. most of these things are not the biggest deals in the world. this case is certainly doesn't rise to the level of what the mayor of toronto is involved in. so i can't imagine there will be much consequence to this. he's going to have to try a lot harder if he thinks he's going to get into trouble based on these. >> sunny, do you agree with these things? >> spoken like a true defense attorney. mark's attitude, and that's usually the attitude of the defense, is the problem here. this is a kid clearly out of control. this is a kid who has no one really looking out for his best

interest. and the bottom line is, these are serious things. we're talking about felony vandalism, we're talking about dui, he could have killed someone. and we're talking now about an assault on a limo driver that was driving justin bieber and his friends. >> alleged assault. >> sunny, can i -- >> wait a minute, mark. [ all talking at once ] >> mark, you're saying -- >> a felony vandalism in l.a.? come on, give me a break. egging? god save me from something, sunny, that your kids or my kids would do. this guy hasn't done anything, sunny -- >> dui is nothing? >> well, the dui is serious, that's the most serious out of the three. do i think that's going to be the death nell for him? no. and give him a break. he's 19.

>> this is the opportunity, mark, for the justice system to step in and hold him accountable. because he's never held accountable. look at lindsay lohan. i think the justice system being involved finally, finally got her on the right track. your old client, chris brown, he's finally getting the help he needs. this is the prime example of someone that could be rehabilitated. >> mark, for all we know, though -- and you probably have a ton of experience with this as well -- when people see an opportunity maybe to get their name in the paper or to have this thing settled, they might make charges or they may sue -- these people get sued all the time. these people have things being brought up against them all the time. a lot of them end up going away, don't they? >> of course they do. i probably had 100 similar type of these nonsense style incidents involving a variety of celebrities in the last couple of years. they are targets. people make up stuff.

people want to export them. that's what happens. then you get people like sunny who start talking about, oh, they're out of control. >> he is out of control. >> the government needs to come in and take control. the government is not -- >> i don't know if anybody is talking about the government taking control of justin bieber. >> well, the government, remember, the prosecution is the government. >> okay. >> prosecutors are nothing but the government. why do you always want the government -- >> he's terrorizing his neighbors. >> you make it sound like president obama addressed this in the state of the union last night. >> remember who funds the prosecution. >> sunny, he's terrorizing? >> he's terrorizing his neighbors, causing $20,000 worth of damage. >> we're done, we're done. this is someone who needs help. >> he tp 'd a house. >> how do you do $20,000 worth

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welcome back. at a senate hearing today, a growing danger was described inspired by al qaeda. >> there are some five different franchises at least, in 12 countries that this movement has morphed into. >> clapper estimated that more than 7,000 foreign militants are fighting in syria and said one group aligned with al qaeda set

up training camps there to plan attacks on the united states. national security analyst peter bergen joins me tonight. peter, clapper says that al qaeda affiliates in syria want to attack the u.s. how likely a possibility is that? we heard that a lot about terrorists in iraq, wanting to attack the u.s. that didn't seem to happen. >> it didn't, anderson, but terrorists in iraq did attack american targets in jordan in 2005, three american hotels were attacked and 60 people were killed. so what might be more plausible is people being prepared for attacks on american targets in the middle east or perhaps europe. i think clapper moved the ball forward talking about training camps where people are being encouraged to do attacks in the west. certainly i've talked to senior counterterrorism officials who say the number of americans who have gone to syria is more than has been previously reported. they put the number about 70.

not all those have gone to fight with al qaeda. but they are concerned. in fact, they say it's all syria all the time is what they're concerned about. but that's what they're paid to do is be concerned about these issues. >> it is ominous, more americans going to fight in syria than previously known. do you think the greater threat is american targets in europe or european targets? because there's a lot of europeans going there as well to fight. >> yeah. the numbers of europeans are -- we're looking at perhaps a thousand in total. each scandinavian country has dozens that have gone. britain's had more than 100. they're already seeing people coming back. they've been convicted, indicted some people who have come back. you can drive from paris to damascus relatively easy. so the threat is certainly higher in europe. i think the threat in the united states is much lower. a lot of these people are

getting one-way tickets. they get killed when they go over there or sometimes they volunteer as suicide bombers. >> when the president says that al qaeda is on the run, is that not in fact the case? are the gains the u.s. has made against it not as strong as the administration sometimes claims? >> i think the administration is basically being correct. al qaeda the org that attacked us on 9/11 is basically on life support. al qaeda, the organization that is rising up in syria is rising up and that's true in the last year or so in particular. but they have their own problems. the two al qaeda affiliates in syria right now are fighting each other. and they're also fighting the assad government. this could go on for years. the administration is certainly correct when they say this. maybe they're not sort of -- the whole picture is a little more complicated than is being presented. but broadly speaking they're correct and i think the threat to the united states is nothing like the threat that came from

al qaeda central. >> peter, thank you. >> thank you. let's get caught up with stephanie elam with a "360" bulletin. new york republican congressman michael grimm has apologized for threatening a reporter. he was asked about accusations of illegal campaign fund-raising. here's what happened next. [ inaudible ] >> grimm at first defended his actions but later called to apologize to the reporter. the royal caribbean cruise

ship "explorer of the seas" returned to port in new jersey today after nearly 700 people got sick. their symptoms were consistent with the norovirus. the cruise was cut short by two days. passengers will get a 50% refund and a 50% credit for a future cruise about don't mess with jim cantore. the weather channel reporter saw a heckler approaching him while on the air. take a look at this. he kneed the heckler in the groin and continued to report. you've got to like those moves. slips a knee and a cool little twist. >> thank you very much. an update on the deep south's deep freeze. we'll get the latest from atlanta and hear what's next with the storm. also, erick munoz explains how his late wife made him a stronger man and why he's certain he did the right thing. she was pregnant and brain dead in texas. the family wanted to take her

off the ventilator. the hospital refused citing a little known texas law. we'll talk to erick and marlise's mom. about fighting to honor her wishes to die with dignity. farmer: hello, i'm an idaho potato farmer. and our giant idaho potato truck is still missing. so my dog and i we're going to go find it. it's out there somewhere spreading the good word about idaho potatoes and raising money for meals on wheels. but we'd really like our truck back,

so if you see it, let us know, would you? thanks. what?

tonight, a "360" exclusive. for the first time, the family of marlise munoz is speaking out about the beloved wife, daughter and young mom they've lost and their battle to honor her wishes

after she died. it took them two months, but they did honor her wishes this past weekend. now they're trying to find a way forward in their grief. they told me they want to make sure no other family has to go through what they did. in just a moment, you'll hear from her husband, erick and mother, lynn. first, a quick look back how this tragedy unfolded. this past november, 33-year-old marlise munoz wakes up in the middle of the night to prepare a bottle for her young baby boy. a paramedic whose husband is also a paramedic, marlise is 14 weeks pregnant with the couple's second child, when she collapses on the kitchen floor of an apparent blood clot in her lung. shortly after being taken to john peter smith hospital in ft. worth, texas, doctors tell her husband, erick, his wife is brain dead and will never recover. >> i can't say enough about her. i can't do her justice. >> marlise's body is connected to a ventilator, despite the family's wishes and what her

family says were her wishes. erick munoz says as paramedics, it was a conversation they had often. >> we've seen things out in the field, and we both knew that we didn't want to be on life support. >> but the hospital refuses to unplug the ventilator because marlise is pregnant. texas is one of about 30 states that restricts a woman's ability to be disconnected from life support if she's pregnant regardless of the patient's or family's directive. >> we've reached the point that you wish that your wife's body would stop. >> after more than a month, the family files a lawsuit, demanding marlise be disconnected and her body turned over to them for burial. the case sparks a debate over end of life decisions. >> we just don't want the hospital or if it does go to court to forget that there is a child involved. >> tom mayo is a law professor. he helped write the law and says

the hospital misinterpreted it, because marlise can't be brought back to life. >> i don't see how we can use a provision of the law that talks about treating or not treating a patient in a case where we really don't have a patient. >> attorneys for the family revealed that despite a heart beat, the fetus inside marlise is distinctly abnormal, saying "even at this early stage, the lower extremities are deformed to the extent that the gender cannot be determined." after more than two months, a judge orders the hospital to declare marlise munoz dead and withdraw life support. the hospital says it will comply with the court, saying in a statement, we have followed what we believe were the demands of a state statute. from the onset, jps said its role was not to make or contest law, but to follow it. on sunday, the devices that have kept marlise munoz's heart and lungs working for two months, are switched off and her family is finally able to lay her to

rest. for all that coverage the story has gotten the most painful details were intensely private. the loss is still very raw for the family. the munoz's 15-month-old son is too young to understand what happened. for now at least he's spared from that heartbreak. earlier, erick munoz and marlise's mom told me they want their story to be heard to keep other families from going through the same nightmare. here's our exclusive interview. >> let's go back to when she first had the embolism. at that point, she was 14 weeks pregnant. >> yes. once we got to the hospital and after the doctors do their initial procedures that they do to try to determine what cause -- what's causing the problem, they showed us a c.t. of her cranium, and just her brain, and i'm not a doctor, but you take enough stroke patients

to the hospital and you see their c.t.s. we see the c.t.s. we see them and i knew -- i can't tell you exactly what i was looking at, but i knew it was wrong. >> even then, even those early days, you were all on the same page. you felt you knew her wishes that she wouldn't want to be kept alive artificially through extreme measures? >> yes, yes. we've known for years. we've known for years. i knew that it was over for her when they brought us back to the e.r. and i don't have anything scientific to back that up. it was just, i walked in, she had already coded, her heart had stopped again. i remember a nurse being on the table administering cpr. i turned to my husband and i said, why are they doing that? she's gone. so i knew in the e.r. and it was clarified from one of the doctors that showed us the cat scan.

they brought us up to icu so we could have some privacy for when she was disconnected. by the time we got up to the third floor, that's when we found out that there was this little known law in texas that even to this day we have yet to have someone that has known about it. >> so the doctors didn't know about this law initially? >> no, actually, we were called back into her room in icu and the doctor told us about this and, of course, we were like, no, we want to disconnect her. and his words were, you know, we were asking for an explanation. he said, i'm sorry, i just found out about this law five minutes before you did. i've been told to notify you of it. >> when they told you this, this is the worst thing that could possibly happen to you. you're in this horrific situation and you've made this difficult decision based on conversations that you've had

with your wife and your daughter in the past. what goes through your head when a doctor says, we're not going to follow your wishes? >> for me, i thought there must have been a miscommunication in some way. we said no, no, that's not what she wanted. she never wanted to be on life support. that's when they're saying, but she's pregnant. and then, you know, it went from there. so we knew we weren't going to let this rest, because it wasn't right. it was not honoring her wishes. >> i think a lot of people think, maybe if you had something in writing, that would have made a difference, if she had written down, if there was an advanced directive or something. but under this texas law, even if it's in writing, it gets overridden. >> exactly. >> she could have been detailed with everything, exactly how this happened, detailed it and it wouldn't have mattered. >> there are some families who think maybe she can come back

from this. maybe a miracle can happen. >> we still held hope, i did, i can tell you i did. but for me, it was you can't -- at least for me, i couldn't turn off the knowledge that i know of what was going on. even though i do want to keep the hope and it's my wife, i would do anything, you know. many a nights i asked god to take me instead. but you can't turn off that knowledge that you know how bad it was. and like i said, i promised her, i told her, i will honor your wishes. for me and her dad, that was the hardest. because we looked her in the eye and told her. and for the state of texas to not let us do that was hard. you know, you want to keep your word to your loved one. >> what was she like? >> she can light up a room with

her smile. a personality that's contagious. i am not one to talk a whole lot, but she -- it was just being around her to me was natural. it was just relaxing. i could do things that even my parents, you know, i felt a lot more relaxed with her than i did with my parents. but it's just -- she's contagious. that smile, that personality, that kind, noble heart that she has, it's indescribable. >> towards the end as the body reacted to the amount of time it had been on life support, the deterioration that had started, it made it very hard to look at -- to look at this body that used to be our daughter and to know that nothing about her was

there. >> and you could even -- you could see deterioration? >> very much. very much. and you could smell it. >> really? >> you could smell the deterioration. i said when i go by -- if i'm close to her head, i smell death. >> i understand you learned that you were going to have a daughter, is that -- >> they had done several sonos throughout the process and they couldn't determine. so after the court hearing, i said, you know, i would like to know the gender to give my baby a name. i know it's nothing legal. >> what did you name her? >> nicole. it was my wife's middle name. >> and you were saying you feel that marlise was in heaven to greet nicole?

>> i know she was. i know she was there when baby nicole arrived january 26. >> so they're together? >> they're together. >> one of the reasons you're both speaking out, because you're not looking to get on television here certainly. >> no. >> but you want people to have this conversation with their loved one? you want -- you hope that this sparks conversation in families and whether it's getting stuff in writing but even in this case that wouldn't have made a difference. but to have that conversation. >> to have the conversation, to make sure that your relatives or other loved ones know what your wishes are. again, that helped with us being on the same page from the very beginning. >> one thing i hadn't thought about, this family is not going to be given a bill by this hospital for this? there's no way that could happen, because that would be

unthinkable. did they present you with a bill? >> i have received bills to my house. they have not come to me and said how that's going to work. i believe i've heard several media outlets saying that they've asked about that, they've asked that question and they said they would continue normal billing. >> is there anything else you want people to know? >> for me, closure began after she was disconnected. i was able to get a sense of closure. of course, now we're starting the grieving process. it was hard to start the grieving process when we still had this body that we knew was an empty shell in front of it. we really couldn't start grieving. but now we can. for me, our story does not end here. it will end when we have laws changed and -- >> and you're going to continue to fight for that?

>> yes, yes, we are. yes. >> i wish you -- i'm so sorry for all you've gone through as a family and i wish you strength in the days ahead. >> thank you. thank you. >> hard to imagine what they have been through. and will continue to go through. when we come back, we'll have more on the winter weather down in atlanta. our lead story, the ice down south. my dad has aor afib.brillation, he has the most common kind... ...it's not caused by a heart valve problem. dad, it says your afib puts you

at 5 times greater risk of a stroke. that's why i take my warfarin every day. but it looks like maybe we should ask your doctor about pradaxa. in a clinical trial, pradaxa® (dabigatran etexilate mesylate)... ...was proven superior to warfarin at reducing the risk of stroke. and unlike warfarin, with no regular blood tests or dietary restrictions. hey thanks for calling my doctor. sure. pradaxa is not for people with artificial heart valves. don't stop taking pradaxa without talking to your doctor. stopping increases your risk of stroke. ask your doctor if you need to stop pradaxa before surgery or a medical or dental procedure. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding. don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding or have had a heart valve replaced. seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older, have a bleeding condition or stomach ulcer, take aspirin, nsaids, or blood thinners... ...or if you have kidney problems, especially if you take certain medicines. tell your doctors about all medicines you take. pradaxa side effects include indigestion, stomach pain, upset, or burning.

if you or someone you love has afib not caused by a heart valve problem... ...ask your doctor about reducing the risk of stroke with pradaxa. legs, for crossing. feet...splashing. better things than the joint pain and swelling of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. if you're trying to manage your ra, now may be the time to ask about xeljanz. xeljanz (tofacitinib) is a small pill, not an injection or infusion,

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welcome back. as we talked about at the top of the program, it's been a very rough day in atlanta. i want to check back in with michael holmes and chad myers. chad, so many people are wondering how did something like this happen in atlanta. on monday you predicted the storm was going to hit. so what exactly happened here? how were officials so unprepared? >> reporter: we don't spend taxpayer money in georgia to buy snowplows and sanders that only get used once every 1,000 days. there's just not the amount of equipment you would see in a northern city. that's part of the problem. then the kids went to school that day, when everyone knew it was going to snow and the kids are going to get sent home. when you said go, literally, the schools are closing, it's snowing, we had a million cars,

whatever the number is, all on the road at the same time. if you did that on a dry day, it would be a three-hour commute. do it on a snowy day with accidents, it's a 24-hour commute for some people. that's just the way it went. everybody on the road at the same time and the roads weren't presalted enough i don't believe. i wasn't there, i was here in an ice storm. but i think that's what happened. >> michael, as you were talking about at the top of the program, the freezing temperatures now, so roads could refreeze. but there's a lot of empty cars around. >> reporter: absolutely. the freeway is desserted now, it's getting a little late. but everybody's been home all day. these cars, thousands and thousands of cars. people who just gave up, ran out of gas and some of them had accidents, of course, as chad was saying as well. and this freeway, which is empty behind me at the moment, was a car park yesterday. it was just extraordinary.

so what they're going to tomorrow is set up meeting points and bring people out here in four-wheel drives to pick up their cars, they're going to give them gas and jumper leads to get some of these thousands of cars off the side of the busy freeways. >> a lot of southern states were hit hard. the snow is gone. talk about the frigid temperatures, because that's still a very big problem. >> reporter: it is very dangerous. in fact, it will probably be deadly if we're not careful. we have to look after the elderly, we have to look after the pets. they can't be outside very long. this is 32 degrees here. this is cold for the people here. they don't have coats to go with this. if you get up into minnesota, temperatures are 10, 15 below zero. not that's extraordinary, but it's a long-term event. it's been cold for months. >> chad, i appreciate the update and michael, thank you very much. we'll be right back with the "ridicu-list." not all flu products treat all your symptoms. what? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus severe cold and flu

speeds relief to these eight symptoms. [ breath of relief ] thanks. [ male announcer ] you're welcome. ready? go.

time now for the "ridicu-list." on the off chance you haven't been watching the senate foreign relations committee hearing, let me fill you in. it may come as a surprise, in order to be an ambassador to a foreign country, one doesn't have to be a super familiar with that country. take senator max baucus of montana, nominee for u.s. ambassador to china. >> senator, i am no real expert on china. >> no real expert on china.

an aide for the senator says he was just being humble, because that's the montana way. i guess that makes sense, but i'm not real expert on montana, so what do i know? surely if you're going to be an ambassador to a country, you've traveled there at some point, right? >> have you been to norway? >> i have not. >> i guess the guy who is going to be the ambassador to norway hasn't been there. george sunis is his name. he's been nominated for the ambassadorship to norway versus senator john mccain, ambassador of sass. it got prettiey esoteric. >> what do you think the appeal of the progress party was? >> norway has been quick to denounce them. >> the government has denounced them? they're part of the coalition, the government. >> i stand corrected and would like to leave my answer at it's a very open society. >> i stand corrected. look, not many businessmen would be able to discuss the political makeup of norway's government, that's true. but they're not trying to be

ambassador to norway. i'm not sure he even googled norway. he made reference to the country's president, which norway does not have and stumbled over just about everything else. >> the heart of our, um, in-services, but, there are -- uh, important that we continue, um, interesting. >> i tied an onion to my belt. interesting. i have a great idea for ambassadors to iraq, such as -- >> some people out there in our nation don't have maps and i believe that our education, such as in south africa and iraq, everywhere such as, and i believe that they should -- our education over here in the u.s.

should help the u.s. -- or should help south africa and should help iraq and the asian countries. >> only a matter of time before she's nominated. i just want to see senator john mccain do the interview portion in a miss teen usa pageant. >> i have no more questions for this incredibly, highly qualified group of nominees. >> senator john mccain, putting the bad-ass back in ambassador hearings on the "ridicu-list." that'ses it for us, thanks for watching. "erin burnett out front" starts now.